Notice of Determination and Request for Comments Concerning Action Pursuant to Section 301: Brazil’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Digital Trade and Electronic Payment Services; Unfair, Preferential Tariffs; Anti-Corruption Enforcement; Intellectual Property Protection; Ethanol Market Access; and Illegal Deforestation
Key claim: The USTR determined that Brazil’s acts, policies, and practices on digital trade, electronic payments, preferential tariffs, anti-corruption, IP, ethanol access, and deforestation are actionable under Section 301 and is proposing tariffs on Brazilian articles while inviting public comments.
Abstract
(Notice · Trade Representative, Office of United States) The United States Trade Representative (Trade Representative) has determined that certain of Brazil’s acts, policies, and practices at issue in this investigation are actionable under Section 301(b) and Section 304(a) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (Trade Act). The Trade Representative is proposing action, including tariffs on articles of Brazil and certain exemptions, and invites comments from the public.
Why this matters
This is a broad Section 301 action targeting a major economy across six distinct policy domains simultaneously, signaling an expansive use of the statute beyond traditional IP or industrial-policy grievances. Proposed tariffs on Brazilian articles would reshape US-Brazil trade flows in commodities (ethanol, agriculture) and services adjacent sectors (digital, payments) once rates and scope are finalized.