The United States announced an additional 12.5% tariff on Brazilian goods effective Thursday, stacking atop a 25% levy imposed last week and bringing the total duties on some products to 37.5%. The Office of the United States Trade Representative alleged that Brazil has failed to effectively ban imports of goods produced with forced labor, applying the surcharge alongside measures targeting China, Argentina, Australia, India, the United Kingdom, Russia and South Africa.
Brazil rejected the tariffs as arbitrary and unjustified, saying it plans to invoke its Reciprocity Law and file a complaint at the World Trade Organization. Brasília noted it ratified the International Labour Organization's Convention No. 29 on forced labor via decree in February 2026, though experts note Brazil lacks a specific customs instrument comparable to the US mechanism for blocking such imports at the border.
The Trump administration has escalated trade pressure on multiple fronts this month.