What Actually Changed

Back in July 2025, President Trump slapped Brazil with a 50% tariff — 40% under IEEPA as Bolsonaro-prosecution payback, plus a 10% reciprocal tariff. According to Covington & Burling's August 2025 client alert, those were executive orders issued under emergency economic powers. The U.S. Supreme Court struck them down in February, leaving only the baseline 10% global tariff in place.

Now the Trump administration is coming back through a different door.

Section 301: The Legal Upgrade

The Office of the United States Trade Representative — led by Jamieson Greer — has proposed a new 25% tariff on Brazilian goods under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, according to CNBC.

Section 301 is specifically designed for this. It authorizes tariffs when a foreign country engages in practices that are "unreasonable or discriminatory" and burden U.S. commerce. Unlike IEEPA — which the Supreme Court apparently found lacking in this context — Section 301 has a stronger statutory foundation and requires a formal investigation before action is taken.

That investigation was launched at Trump's direction. USTR Greer confirmed it.

What Brazil Is Accused Of

The list of complaints is long. According to both CNBC and The Hindu BusinessLine, the USTR's investigation flagged Brazil on:

• Digital trade barriers
• Electronic payment services discrimination
• Preferential tariff arrangements
• Intellectual property enforcement failures
• Ethanol market access restrictions
• Illegal deforestation practices
• Anti-corruption enforcement gaps

The administration has built a parallel trade-grievance case that stands on its own legal footing, separate from the Bolsonaro prosecution angle that dominated coverage last summer.

What the New Tariff Actually Covers

The Hindu BusinessLine, citing Reuters, notes that the 25% tariff excludes beef, coffee, rare earths, other metals, and aircraft parts. Brazil is the U.S.'s largest beef supplier in the Western Hemisphere, and aircraft parts from Embraer are critical to U.S. aviation supply chains.

The Covington & Burling analysis from last August flagged those same sectors as politically sensitive exemptions — and the USTR appears to have learned from that fight.

The Bolsonaro Thread Still Running

The Bolsonaro angle did not disappear. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the new 25% tariff is in addition to — or partially replaces — tariff structures that originally included 40% specifically as punishment for Brazil prosecuting Bolsonaro, Trump's ally. The Supreme Court killed the IEEPA mechanism. But the political motivation hasn't changed.

Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have held "several constructive meetings," according to USTR Greer — but Greer also confirmed the two sides have "substantial differences" that remain unresolved.

Constructive meetings that produce zero resolution aren't constructive. They're stalling.

The Hearing Is Set for July 6

This is not final yet. The USTR will hold a public hearing on July 6 before any tariffs are formally implemented, according to CNBC. Businesses on both sides — American importers of Brazilian coffee, metals, and agricultural goods, and Brazilian exporters — have a window to make their case.

Heavy lobbying from U.S. agricultural and aviation interests is expected. The exemptions in this proposal didn't happen by accident.

What the New Approach Reveals

Most outlets are framing this as "Trump punishing Brazil again." The Bolsonaro-prosecution angle makes for an easy headline. But this administration has now built a substantive Section 301 case — documented trade complaints, a formal investigation, a legal mechanism with teeth. Whether the policy is sound or not, this is a more legally durable approach than the IEEPA executive orders the Supreme Court threw out.

The Supreme Court ruling explains why this new tariff exists in the first place — a detail largely missing from mainstream coverage.

Also overlooked: what the exemptions tell us. Beef and coffee off the list means U.S. grocery prices won't take the hit a blanket Brazilian tariff would inflict. This is a targeted instrument, not a broadside.

What This Means for You

If you're a U.S. company importing Brazilian steel, ethanol, or tech services — you're looking at a potential 25% cost increase on top of existing tariffs, pending that July 6 hearing.

If you buy Brazilian coffee or beef at the grocery store — those are currently exempted. For now.

If you're a taxpayer watching trade policy: the administration got slapped down by the Supreme Court, regrouped, and came back with a stronger legal tool. Whether the underlying policy is right is a separate debate. But the idea that Trump's Brazil pressure campaign is dead turned out to be wrong.

The hearing is July 6. Watch who shows up to fight the tariff — and who doesn't.