US imposes 25 per cent tariffs on Brazil, cites their concession to India, Mexico as reason
The tariff is a direct response to Brazil's preferential tariff arrangements with India and Mexico, which the US argues provide less favorable market access for American goods
The United States has announced a 25 percent tariff on specific Brazilian imports, scheduled to take effect on July 22nd. This action is a direct response to Brazil's preferential tariff arrangements with India and Mexico, which the US argues provide less favorable market access for American goods. Brazil has declared its intention to retaliate, with President Lula da Silva's office condemning the move as a "regrettable milestone" in bilateral relations. The US Trade Representative's office highlighted that Brazil grants tariff concessions on a wide array of products to India and Mexico, which are not extended to the US. This development positions Brazil to become the second most heavily tariffed country by the United States, after China, and underscores growing trade friction between the two nations amidst broader global trade policy shifts.
The United States has announced a 25 percent tariff on specific Brazilian imports, scheduled to take effect on July 22nd. This action is a direct response to Brazil's preferential tariff arrangements with India and Mexico, which the US argues provide less favorable market access for American goods. Brazil has declared its intention to retaliate, with President Lula da Silva's office condemning the move as a "regrettable milestone" in bilateral relations. The US Trade Representative's office highlighted that Brazil grants tariff concessions on a wide array of products to India and Mexico, which are not extended to the US. This development positions Brazil to become the second most heavily tariffed country by the United States, after China, and underscores growing trade friction between the two nations amidst broader global trade policy shifts.
The United States has announced a 25 percent tariff on specific Brazilian imports, scheduled to take effect on July 22nd. This action is a direct response to Brazil's preferential tariff arrangements with India and Mexico, which the US argues provide less favorable market access for American goods. Brazil has declared its intention to retaliate, with President Lula da Silva's office condemning the move as a "regrettable milestone" in bilateral relations. The US Trade Representative's office highlighted that Brazil grants tariff concessions on a wide array of products to India and Mexico, which are not extended to the US. This development positions Brazil to become the second most heavily tariffed country by the United States, after China, and underscores growing trade friction between the two nations amidst broader global trade policy shifts.
The United States has cited Brazil’s preferential tariff arrangements with India and Mexico as one of the practices that led to the the announcement of a 25 per cent tariff on certain Brazilian imports.
The tariffs announced by the Office of the United States Trade Representative USTR are scheduled to take effect on July 22.
Brazil has now vowed to retaliate against Washington's decision. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s office said the tariffs were a “regrettable milestone” in the history of relations between the two countries and said they
were a result of the pressure exerted on the White House by the family of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Once the tariffs take effect, the country would become the second most heavily tariffed country by the United States after China.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said an investigation found that Brazil grants tariff concessions to India and Mexico that are not extended to the United States, resulting in less favourable market access for American goods, according to news agency ANI.
US officials say that the differential treatment affected US exports to Brazil. They said that US exports to Brazil have gone down while exports from those other countries have gone up.
"What we would expect from the Brazilians is that they give us this type of preferential tariff treatment as well. We're a big trading partner for them... we do want to be able to compete on the best terms, like some of these other countries," Greer said.
The concession provided by Brazil to India and Mexico includes agricultural products, motor vehicles and auto parts, minerals, chemicals and machinery.
According to Jennifer Thornton, General Counsel at the USTR, the preferential treatment covers "hundreds of tariff lines for India" and "over 1,000 tariff lines for Mexico," with tariff rates ranging from 10 to 100 per cent below Brazil's most-favoured-nation tariffs applicable to US goods.
Meanwhile, a bill seeking to impose 100 per cent tariffs on five countries, including India and China, for buying Russian oil while exempting European nations purchasing gas from Moscow, was introduced in the US Senate on Thursday with the support of over 60 lawmakers.
The bill was conceived by Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal and late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
Blumenthal had said on Tuesday that the proposed legislation was aimed at imposing 100 per cent tariffs on five major purchasers of Russian oil — China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan. The countries are the top five major purchasers of Russian crude oil or natural gas.