United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday (July 30), imposing a total tariff of 50% on imports from Brazil, which includes an additional 40 percentage points over an existing 10% baseline.
Trump said that certain actions taken by the Brazil’s government threaten the national security, foreign policy and economy of the United States, adding that these actions interfere with the US’ interests while violating human rights, and infringing upon the rights of its citizens and companies.
A 10% duty is already imposed on the imports from the South American country.
Trump had reportedly threatened to impose 50% tariffs to Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva earlier on July 9, when he called his ally and former Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro’s trial by the Supreme Court as a “witch hunt” accusing Lula of suppressing democracy.”Certain Brazilian officials have issued orders to compel United States online platforms to censor the accounts or content of US persons, where such accounts or content are protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution; block the ability of US persons to raise money on their platforms; change their content moderation policies, enforcement practices, or algorithms in ways that may result in the censorship of the content and accounts of US persons; and provide the user data of accounts belonging to US persons, facilitating the targeting of political critics in the US,” Trump said in the order.
Read more: ‘Unilateral, illegal, unfair’: Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on India draws strong reactions
“These judicial actions, taken under the pretext of combatting “disinformation,” “fake news,” or “anti-democratic” or “hateful” content, endanger the economy of the US by tyrannically and arbitrarily coercing US companies to censor political speech, turn over sensitive user data, or change their content moderation policies on pain of extraordinary fines, criminal prosecution, asset freezes, or complete exclusion from the Brazilian market,” he added.
40% tariffs on imports of Brazilian products
The statement further said that the scope and gravity of these Brazilian policies, practices, and actions constitute an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to America, thereby declaring a national emergency, and imposing an additional ad valorem duty rate of 40% on certain Brazilian products.
“This action is necessary and appropriate to deal with the national emergency declared in this order,” Trump remarked.Brazilian President Lula calls for negotiations
The Brazilian President had defied Trump’s threats earlier, and has again said that the country would not submit to the threats and will negotiate as a sovereign nation, not as a small country going against a big one.
“At no point will Brazil negotiate as if it were a small country up against a big country. We know the economic power, military power and technological size of the US. But that doesn’t make us afraid. It makes us concerned,” Lula was quoted as saying by The New York Times in an interview earlier this week.
“Be sure that we are treating this with the utmost seriousness. But seriousness does not require subservience. I treat everyone with great respect but I want to be treated with respect,” he added.
Read more: Indian govt responds to Trump’s 25% tariffs and additional penalty
Exempted products from the tariff rates
Trump’s order, going to be effective from seven days after its publication, however, has exempted key Brazilian goods and products such as passenger vehicles, metal products of those produced from iron and steel, along with the components utilised in civil aircraft. These products are already covered through current specific tariffs.
List of Brazilian products exempted from Trump’s 40% tariffs
| Category | Exempted Products |
| Products Already Subject to Previously Announced Sectoral Tariffs | – Iron and steel (raw and derivatives)
– Aluminum products (raw and derivatives) – Passenger vehicles (sedans, SUVs, minivans, etc.) and light trucks – Parts for passenger vehicles and light trucks – Semi-finished and intensive copper derivative products |
| Agricultural and Food Products | – Brazil nuts
– Orange juice (frozen and not frozen) – Orange pulp |
| Civil Aircraft, Parts, and Components | – Civil aircraft (airplanes, helicopters, drones, balloons, gliders)
– Aircraft engines (piston, turbojets, turbopropellers) and their parts – New, retreaded, and used pneumatic tires for aircraft – Undercarriages and other aircraft parts – Aircraft seats – Navigational instruments, radios, radar apparatus for aeronautical use – Other components specified for civil aircraft use |
| Energy and Mineral Products | – Crude petroleum, petroleum oils, and fuel products
– Natural gas (liquefied and gaseous) – Coal and related products (lignite, peat, coke, tars) – Electrical energy – Iron ore and tin ores – Silicon metal and metallurgical grade alumina (aluminum oxide) – Crude mica and worked building stone |
| Metals and Metal Products (General Exemption) | – Nonalloy and alloy pig iron
– Ferroalloys (ferronickel, ferroniobium) – Tin waste, scrap, oxides, and chlorides |
| Precious Metals | – Silver bullion and dore
– Gold bullion and dore |
| Wood and Paper Products | – Various types of chemical and semi-chemical wood pulp
– Sawn or chipped tropical wood – Paper and paper pulp products |
| Chemicals and Fertilizers | – Various mineral or chemical fertilizers
– Specific industrial chemicals (e.g., potassium hydroxide, certain chlorinated hydrocarbons) |
| Other General Exemptions | – Donations to relieve human suffering (e.g., food, clothing, medicine)
– Informational materials (e.g., publications, films, music, artworks) – Binder or baler twine made of sisal or agave fibers |
