The Trump administration has announced new Section 301 tariffs on Brazil. It has also just made what could be the first in a steady drumbeat of tariff news, announcing plans for a 10% tariff on top allies like the European Union and Canada and a 12.5% rate on other nations, including China. The USTR announced that 59 countries and the 27 member states of the EU had failed to counteract goods being made with forced labor and that the practice “burdens or restricts U.S. commerce” and is therefore ripe for future action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

So the tariff wars are now on again. Good Luck with that, Mr. President. Too bad for the consumer and the U,S.

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Trump administration proposes 25% tariffs on Brazil despite extensive US trade surplus. Following “an investigation by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative,” the Trump administration on Monday “proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil, charging that the world’s 10th-biggest economy engages in trade practices that are ‘unreasonable’ and that ‘burden or restrict U.S. commerce. ” “Last year, Trump had slapped Brazil with a 50% tariff, mainly to protest its prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro for trying to overturn his electoral defeat in 2022.” But the “Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump overstepped his authority by using … the International Emergency Economic Powers Act … to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners, including Brazil.” The administration relies on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in its current push to hit Brazil with new tariffs.” Scotus Blog (June 3, 2026).