The following was taken in part from the NCBFAA:
On late Wednesday evening, July 15th, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced that, under President Trump’s direction, the U.S. will impose a 25% tariff under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act on certain goods from Brazil.
The tariffs, with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, will take effect at 12:01 AM EDT on July 22nd. A list of the covered Brazilian goods and related HTS numbers are available in this Federal Register notice.
Certain goods will be exempt from the tariffs, including oranges, orange juice, beef, coffee, certain energy products, and aerospace parts. Ethanol will be covered by the tariffs, because the Brazilian government ended its reciprocal treatment of ethanol and “effectively” closed off their market to U.S. ethanol producers, senior administration officials said.
The USTR said that this action follows a year-long investigation that determined that certain Brazilian measures related to digital trade and electronic payment services; unfair, preferential tariffs; anti-corruption interference; intellectual property protection; ethanol market access; and illegal deforestation are unreasonable and burden or restrict the U.S. commerce.
In addition, the USTR said the action is further supported by its recent public hearings in which it received more than 360 comments and “negotiated intensively” with the Brazilian government to find a resolution to the U.S. concerns.
RIM logistics, ltd. will continue to closely monitor this evolving situation and provide updates as necessary. Please reach out to your RIM representative if you have any questions.