Brazil sees 'discrimination' in new US tariffs and calls for WTO mediation

The United States then applied an additional 12.5% surcharge, claiming that Brazil failed to ban the import of goods produced with forced labor. Taken together, these measures make products of Brazilian origin significantly more expensive when entering the American market. In Brazilian defense, the government points out that the United States is treating the country less favorably than other trading partners. The text highlights that the US imposed these extra duties on Brazilian products while it did not apply similar tariffs to similar products from other WTO members. Furthermore, the Brazilian government alleges that, in the case of the slave labor investigation, the US applied a lower rate to other countries compared to the 12.5% ??rate imposed on Brazil. Another central point of the complaint is that Washington acted unilaterally. According to Brazil, the US sought to punish the country based on its own determinations, ignoring the WTO's standard dispute settlement procedures, known as DSU. Brazil claims that the US violated its commitment to resort to international rules before applying trade sanctions. Trade tensions have increased since February 2025, when the US began imposing a series of tariffs under a "Reciprocal Trade" plan. In July 2025, Brazil had already been targeted with a 40% tariff on certain products, which raised the total surcharge to 50% in some cases before judicial changes in the US changed the basis of the charges. Now, with the request for consultations, Brazil hopes that the two countries can reach an agreement before the case becomes a protracted legal dispute in Geneva - This report is being updated