July 17, 2026:
Effective July 22, 2026, the United States Trade Representative and the president will impose a 25% tariff on many goods from Brazil, but beef and beef products will be exempted from the new tariffs.
The tariffs on many of Brazil’s goods are the result of an investigation by the USTR under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes tariffs on goods from countries whose acts, policies or practices are unreasonable and burden or restrict U.S. commerce.
Beef was expressly identified in the investigation as a Brazilian good directly associated with illegal deforestation, a practice the USTR found to be actionable.
The USTR, however, determined that the United States would somehow be harmed if a tariff were placed on Brazil’s beef, either because the USTR believed there was a shortage of beef in the U.S. and more beef could not be obtained from other sources; the U.S. could not produce sufficient volumes of beef; a tariff would cause economywide disruptions; or that a tariff would not lead to the elimination of the particular practice the USTR sought to reform.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard issued the following statement in response to the USTR’s decision to exempt Brazil’s beef and beef products from the new tariff.
“We believe the USTR exempted Brazil’s beef from the new tariff regime in an effort to lower beef prices in the domestic market, but that strategy is fundamentally wrong and dangerous to national security.
“In a competitive marketplace, increased imports would be expected to increase domestic supplies and lower consumer prices, but the U.S. cattle and beef markets are not competitive – they are controlled by giant monopolistic corporations.
“The domestic beef packing and beef retail industries are highly concentrated, and the handful of dominant corporations in those industries wield their tremendous market power to exact higher margins for themselves whenever they can source cheaper imports from abroad.
“That’s why beef prices continued to climb to record levels even during years when cattle prices were depressed by increasing import volumes. It’s also why the all-time record import volumes beginning in 2023 have had no effect on consumer beef prices but have enabled the retail sector to capture all-time record margins by buying their inputs low and selling to consumers high.
“Excessive import volumes entering the U.S. over the past many years have contributed substantially to the liquidation of the U.S. cattle herd, reducing it to the smallest size in 75 years. More record imports, as are now being led by the record volumes of Brazilian-sourced imports, will further impede investments to expand the U.S. herd and lead to even more ranchers exiting the industry.
“The USTR has made a grave mistake and is providing a windfall to the two Brazilian-owned beef packers – JBS and Marfrig – that are among the four largest beef packers in the United States.
“It is critical to national security that the U.S. become self-sufficient in the production of such a critical dietary protein as beef, but the USTR’s decision will undermine that objective and harm both ranchers and consumers. We urge the USTR to reconsider its decision.
“In response to the USTR’s misguided decision, congressional enactment of mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL) for beef is imperative. Only with MCOOL can consumers choose to buy their beef from a country that evidence shows has failed to address illegal deforestation and has a history of food safety corruption, or from the United States of America, where beef is produced under the most stringent production and food safety standards in the world.”
July 16, 2026:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil after finding a range of what it deemed unfair trade practices by the world’s 10th-biggest economy.
The tariffs, which were first proposed last month, will take effect July 22, 2026.
The order exempts some goods that are not produced in the U.S. or that officials worry would disrupt supply chains. Exempted products include coffee, beef, oranges and orange juice, some oil and gas energy products and aerospace parts and components.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative concluded after a yearlong investigation that Brazil had a range of unfair trade practices, including lax anti-corruption enforcement and unfair tariffs of its own, among other practices seen as unreasonable and unfair. The U.S., however, has had a goods trade surplus with Brazil for years.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement that the action was necessary to ensure American workers and companies compete on a level playing field.
“Extensive negotiations with Brazil over the past year have not resolved these issues, but we remain open to continuing negotiations with Brazil to bring about long-needed changes to the problems identified in this investigation,” he said.
After U.S. officials in early June warned that they were proposing the tariffs, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reacted with indignation. He instead pointed to political considerations, blaming his rival in the country’s October elections, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro had recently visited Washington and is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of President Donald Trump.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X about the announcement of the tariffs: “Let there be no confusion about why: President Lula and his government have not negotiated with the US in good faith. His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians. For the past year, Lula has put his own ego ahead of making a deal for the welfare of the Brazilian people, and these tariffs are the price for that.”
The tariffs are being imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, allowing the U.S. to launch the investigation into Brazil’s trade practices.
The U.S. Supreme Court in February ruled against many of Trump’s tariffs imposed under a different law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977. The court found he overstepped his authority under that act to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners, including Brazil.
Trump had under that law imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil to protest its prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro for trying to overturn his loss in a 2022 election. But Trump’s relationship with Lula seemed to improve in May, when he visited the White House.
July 8, 2026:
The United States Cattlemen’s Association is urging the U.S. Trade Representative to impose tougher tariffs on Brazilian beef, arguing imports give Brazil an unfair advantage over American cattle producers.
Testifying before USTR, USCA called for an additional 25 percent tariff on all Brazilian bovine products, including beef cuts, trim, and edible offal. The group also asked officials to reject exemptions that could allow products to be relabeled and to require verified improvements in Brazil’s environmental and labor practices before any tariffs are lifted.
“Brazil’s cattle sector enjoys an unfair advantage that no U.S. rancher can—or would ever want to—compete with,” said USCA Director of Policy and Public Affairs Jenna Stanton. “We are simply asking for a market where everyone plays by the same basic rules.”
USCA also says illegal deforestation, forced labor, and corruption in Brazil’s cattle industry create an uneven playing field for U.S. ranchers and justify stronger trade action.
Related to the topic of Brazilian beef…..
The Renewable Fuels Association told the U.S. International Trade Commission it supports the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariff on ethanol imports from Brazil, arguing the move is needed to address what it calls unfair trade barriers against U.S. ethanol. RFA officials testified that the United States and Brazil once enjoyed a strong two-way ethanol trade, but said Brazil changed course in 2017 by imposing tariffs that sharply reduced U.S. exports.
“Prior to the implementation of punitive trade barriers, Brazil and the United States enjoyed an open and efficient two-way trading relationship in ethanol,” said RFA General Counsel Ed Hubbard. “Beginning in 2017, Brazil unilaterally abandoned that approach, turning to a pro-tariff policy that disadvantaged U.S. ethanol imports.”
According to RFA, U.S. fuel ethanol exports to Brazil fell to zero in 2023, before recovering modestly to $43 million in 2024 and $68 million in 2025, a fraction of the market Brazil represented just a few years earlier.
Comments