US President Donald Trump signed an order establishing that, starting seven days from yesterday, most Brazilian products will be subject to an additional 40% tariff. Added to the rate already imposed earlier this year, it totals the 50% tariff that the US president had previously announced would be applied to goods from the South American country.
The only agricultural products exempt from the additional tariff are in-shell nuts, fresh or dried, and orange pulp and juice. All others —mainly chilled beef, cocoa, coffee, among many other products— will face an additional 40% duty.
The new rate will take effect on August 6. Brazilian goods can enter the US without paying the additional 40% tariff only if they meet the following two conditions:
1. **Loading and transit**
• They must have been loaded at the port of shipment and already be in transit to the US before 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Time) on the seventh day after the date of the order (August 6).
2. **Latest entry date**
• They must be entered for consumption, or withdrawn from a customs warehouse for consumption, before 12:01 a.m. (Eastern Time) on October 5, 2025.
Trump justified the extra 40% tariff by claiming that the Government of Brazil threatens the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the US. He argued that Brazilian officials violate human rights, politically persecute Jair Bolsonaro, and coerce US companies to censor speech protected by the First Amendment, hand over data, and modify policies, undermining free expression and the rule of law.
Beyond this order, Trump left an additional seven-day window in which a settlement could be negotiated between the two countries, but he also warned that, should Brazil retaliate, he would further raise the rates.
Brazilian beef exporters estimate losses of up to US\$ 1 billion as a consequence of the tariffs imposed by the US. With the duties Brazil was already paying (36.4%) to export chilled beef to the US, the tariff would rise to 76.4%, effectively pushing Brazil out of the US market.
In the first half of the year, Brazil exported 156 thousand tons of chilled beef to the US.
