One year after Trump's letter to Lula and announcement of tariffs: remember the main chapters of the trade dispute between the USA and Brazil

See below the main chapters of the trade dispute between Brazil and the USA: The letter that started the crisis The offensive gained strength with the letter sent by Trump to Lula on July 9, 2025. In the document, the American president announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian products and justified the decision with political and commercial arguments. Among the reasons cited were the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro at the Federal Supreme Court (STF), criticism of the Brazilian Court's actions in relation to digital platforms and allegations that the commercial relationship between the two countries would be unfavorable to the United States. READ ALSO: Letter from Trump: read the full text, which alleges political and commercial reasons for a 50% tariff on Brazil Trump sends a letter to Lula and announces a 50% tariff on Brazilian products Reproduction At the time, economists and representatives of the productive sector pointed out that the decision had a strong political component and warned of risks to Brazilian exports and jobs linked to trade with the United States. When justifying the measure, Trump also stated that the US trade relationship with Brazil is "unfair". "Our relationship, unfortunately, has been far from reciprocal," he wrote. Despite the argument, data from the Ministry of Development shows the opposite. Brazil has been recording consecutive trade deficits with the USA since 2009 — that is, 16 years ago. This means that Brazil spent more on imports than it earned on exports. In the document, Trump also states that he ordered the opening of an investigation against Brazil for unfair or unfair trade practices. The investigation was officially opened days later, on July 15, 2025. The increase in tariffs The letter did not appear in isolation. Months earlier, in April 2025, Trump had already announced so-called reciprocal tariffs for several countries, imposing an additional 10% tax on Brazilian products. With the July announcement, part of Brazilian exports began to face a much larger surcharge. Around 22% of Brazilian exports were subject to an additional tariff of 40%, in addition to other charges applied to certain sectors. Among the most affected segments were industrial products, machinery, equipment, soluble coffee and products linked to the steel and aluminum chain. In June last year, the Republican raised taxes on steel and aluminum, based on Section 232 — a separate instrument from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The charges, which until then were 25%, are now 50%, according to a decree signed by President Donald Trump. The measure affects Brazil. In June this year, the United States concluded an investigation that accuses the Brazilian government of adopting practices that "encumber or restrict" trade with the North Americans. As a result of the investigation, the US Trade Office (USTR) proposed the application of 25% tariffs on Brazilian goods. The body, however, included a list of exceptions for products considered strategic by the US, such as meat, fruit, coffee, aircraft, rare earths, among others. ?The report cites topics such as the operation of PIX, the regulation of digital platforms, commercial agreements signed by Brazil, combating illegal deforestation, access to the ethanol market, protection of intellectual property and anti-corruption policies. Furthermore, the investigation also concluded that the European Union and 59 countries, including Brazil, failed to prohibit and monitor the import of goods produced with forced labor. In response, the American government proposed the application of additional tariffs of 12.5% ??on all products from these countries. These tariffs have not yet come into effect. The Brazilian government is still trying to prevent them from coming into effect. Under US law, the formal investigation must be completed and a series of public consultations must be held before the measures take effect. The legal deadline for defining and possibly applying measures against Brazil is July 15th. This month, the Brazilian government presented a formal response to the conclusion of the investigation into the new tariff proposal. Brazil argued that the USTR did not prove that Brazilian policies are discriminatory or create barriers to US trade. The Executive also stated that American criticism of PIX and decisions of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) are not commercial issues, but differences over Brazilian internal policies. According to Itamaraty, using these themes to justify trade sanctions would excessively expand the scope of the American legislation used in the investigation. The combination of tariffs proposed by the United States could increase the total charge to 37.5%, if the measures are implemented. Behind the scenes, the assessment of members of Palácio do Planalto and Itamaraty is that the recommendation made by the USTR is political in nature and disregards the technical arguments presented by negotiators over the last year. These interlocutors point out as an example the fact that the documents referring to the beginning of the commercial investigation, in July 2025, and the tariff recommendation, in June 2026, are “practically the same”. The Lula government has attributed US tariff threats to articulations by the Bolsonaro family, especially former deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, against Brazilian institutions. The president has even called the children of former president Jair Bolsonaro “traitors to the country”. Under reservation, members of the government say they do not believe in a complete reversal of tariffs, only in a possible reduction or announcement of exceptions. READ ALSO Brazil calls the US investigation 'arbitrary' and says that the 12.5% ??tariff violates WTO rules US tariff: the Brazilian government will continue negotiating, but considers that everything has already been said and expects an increase in the number of exceptions The Brazilian government's reaction In a public demonstration after Trump's announcement, the president stated that Brazil would not accept being "tutored by anyone" and informed that any unilateral increase in tariffs would be responded to based on the Economic Reciprocity Law. The Brazilian government also reinforced that issues related to the trial of those involved in the acts of January 8 and the ongoing proceedings in the STF fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of Brazilian Justice. Over the period, government and business representatives began to defend market diversification and the expansion of trade agreements as a way of reducing dependence on the American market. To try to reverse the measures, President Lula met with President Trump on more than one occasion. Furthermore, members of both governments met several times to discuss the issue. The presidents of the United States, Donald Trump, and Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), speak to journalists before a meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters In October last year, the two met in Malaysia. After the meeting, Lula stated that the meeting was "surprisingly good" and that he had the impression that there would soon be no problem between the countries. “If it depends on Trump and me, there will be an agreement,” said the president. The two heads of state met in May this year. President Lula went to the White House, in Washington, in the United States. Setbacks and changes in tariffs In November last year, after a meeting between the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, and the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to discuss the tariffs, the American government announced the removal of the 40% tariff on some Brazilian products. The measure benefited beef, coffee, açaí, cocoa and several other products. There are more than 200 items added to the previous list of almost 700 exceptions to the tariff imposed on Brazil. The previous week, the Trump administration had already reduced import tariffs on around 200 food products for several countries. In the case of Brazil, the rate had fallen from 50% to 40%. In February of this year, the American Supreme Court concluded that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), used by Trump to justify part of the tariffs, did not authorize the president to create the charges in the way he had done. The decision overturned a significant portion of the tariffs announced by the American government, including measures that had affected Brazilian products. In response, Trump turned to another legal instrument to maintain his trade policy and announced a new global tariff of 10%, valid for 150 days. This measure should be valid until the end of this month. See timeline below: In April 2025, when announcing the so-called reciprocal tariffs for several countries, Trump applied an additional 10% tax on Brazilian products imported into the USA. In June of the same year, the Republican raised taxes on steel and aluminum to 50%, based on Section 232 — an instrument separate from IEEPA. On July 9, 2025, Trump sent a public letter to President Lula and announced a 40% tariff on Brazilian products, raising the total tax rate on several items to 50%. The fee was scheduled to come into force on August 1, 2025. The measure, however, was accompanied by an extensive list of exceptions. On July 15, 2025, following a request from Trump, the US government opens a trade investigation against Brazil. In October 2025, Lula met with President Trump in Malaysia to discuss tariffs on Brazilian products. In November, after Trump began direct negotiations with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and ministers from both countries met, the US removed the 40% tariff on new items, including coffee, meat and fruit. In February 2026, the Supreme Court invalidated the use of IEEPA for broad tariffs. Thus, the “reciprocal” rate of 10% and the 40% surcharge on Brazil fell. Steel and aluminum were not affected, as they are based on Section 232. On the same day, Trump announced a temporary global tariff of 10% for 150 days, based on a provision in the 1974 trade law, which is in addition to existing tariffs. (These rates are valid until the end of July). In May 2026, President Lula went to the USA to meet with Trump. In June 2026, the USA concludes that Brazil has 'unreasonable' practices and proposes a 25% tariff on national products. In the same month, the USA proposes surcharges to 59 countries and the European Union for failure to combat forced labor; Brazil is on the list with a surcharge of 12.5%.