Brazil, US seek deal to avoid 25% tariff on Brazilian exports

Brazilian industry groups – the Confederação Nacional da Indústria (CNI), Amcham Brazil and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – have sent a joint letter to the ministries of Development, Industry, Trade and Services and Foreign Affairs in Brazil, and to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The letter proposes a two‑phase negotiation agenda aimed at preventing the United States from imposing additional duties on Brazilian products under a Section 301 investigation. The groups warn that the investigation could result in a 25 % tariff covering more than a third of Brazil’s exports, affecting sectors such as industrial inputs, capital goods, energy‑security products, data‑center equipment, artificial‑intelligence infrastructure, automotive, pharmaceutical and medical‑device markets, as well as critical minerals and patents.

The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is awaiting a final meeting with the U.S. side before the USTR decision expected on 15 July. Officials stress that key issues like the Pix instant‑payment system will not be conceded. In parallel, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro testified in Washington about the tariff probe, linking it to earlier political maneuvers. All parties emphasize that a negotiated solution would preserve the strategic commercial relationship between the two countries and avoid economic disruption for exporters, workers and consumers in both markets.