The United States has slapped a 25 per cent tariff on certain goods from Brazil, exempting its oranges, beef, aircraft spare parts and coffee over what the American trade office described as “unfair trading practices”.

“Brazil’s unfair trading practices have prevented U.S. workers and producers from accessing this important market with over 210 million consumers,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a statement late Wednesday.

The tariff, according to the trade office, aligns with the provisions of Section 301 of the Trade Act, which authorises the president to impose duties if he finds evidence of unfair trade. The tariff will go into effect next Wednesday.

The U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, justified the tariff, accusing Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of implementing economic policies that will benefit neither Brazilians nor Americans.

“Let there be no confusion about why: President [Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva] and his government have not negotiated with the U.S. in good faith,” Mr Rubio wrote on X. “His economic policies are bad for Americans and bad for Brazilians.”

Last year, President Donald Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Brazil that was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, which deemed the emergency law unlawful.

Brazil’s leader vowed to invoke the nation’s trade reciprocity law against the U.S., asserting that July 15, 2026, will be remembered as a “lamentable milestone” in bilateral relations with Washington.

“There is no justification for unilateral measures against our country,” Mr Lula wrote in a statement on X