US tariffs impact more than US$11 billion in Brazilian exports, says Amcham.

The decision by the United States government, announced on July 15, to apply 25% tariffs on approximately 3,000 products exported by Brazil, as a conclusion to the Section 301 investigation into Brazilian trade practices, represents a very negative outcome for the bilateral relationship, according to the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil (Amcham). The measure, which takes effect on July 22, places Brazil among the countries with the most restrictive conditions in the world for accessing the U.S. market, severely impacting more than US$11 billion in industrial and agribusiness exports. This treatment contrasts sharply with the growing U.S. trade surplus with Brazil—projected to reach US$41.8 billion in goods and services by 2025—and the low level of tariffs actually applied by Brazil to U.S. products. In addition to harming Brazilian exporters and producers, the application of surcharges tends to increase costs for companies and consumers in the United States, reduce the competitiveness of their industries that use Brazilian inputs, and increase their dependence on Asian suppliers, potentially worsening the US trade deficit with countries in that region. Furthermore, it limits opportunities for cooperation between Brazil and the United States in strategic areas such as critical minerals, energy, the digital economy, and intellectual property. The increase in tariffs also tends to deepen the contraction of bilateral trade, which has already fallen by 13% this year and has brought the United States' share of Brazilian foreign trade to its lowest historical level. It could also negatively affect bilateral investments, which are closely linked to the dynamism of trade between the two countries. “We hope that the governments of Brazil and the United States will keep the channels of dialogue open. Although it has not been possible to reach an agreement, negotiations have intensified in recent months and remain the most effective way to remove the surcharges and build a broader bilateral agenda. This effort becomes even more urgent given the likelihood of new tariffs under the Section 301 investigation into forced labor, which could raise surcharges on Brazilian products to as much as 37.5%,” says Abrão Neto, president of Amcham Brazil. Amcham Brazil considers the definition of a significant list of products excluded from the surcharges to be positive, as it helps to mitigate some of their impacts. At the same time, it requests the creation of a mechanism to evaluate new exclusions for products whose surcharges could generate disproportionate economic impacts for companies and consumers or that do not effectively contribute to resolving the trade concerns raised by the United States.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.