Starting July 22, the U.S. will charge a 25% tariff on imports from Brazil. But the order is far from a blanket tariff. USTR exempted more than 1,600 tariff lines, sparing goods the U.S. can't easily source elsewhere and aiming the tariff at the ones it can.
What's exempt:
Coffee
Beef
Orange juice
Iron ore
Civil aircraft and parts
What's hit:
Footwear
Apparel and textiles
Machinery
Ethanol
Wood pulp
The pulp problem: Dissolving pulp was exempted at the last minute. Brazil supplies about 84% of U.S. hardwood pulp imports, most of it feeding tissue production. The tariff adds an estimated $320 to $355 a tonne. With no quick domestic substitute, tissue and paper makers will absorb the cost directly.
Why it holds: This tariff is built to last longer than the last round. It is based on Section 301, the trade authority that survived the first-term China tariffs. That makes it harder to unwind than the IEEPA tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February.
What's next: A second, parallel review over forced labor is due next week. It could stack another duty on top, pushing Brazil's total burden toward 37.5%. President Lula called the tariffs illegal and said Brazil will challenge them at the WTO.
The bigger picture: Brazil is an early test of what happens when a China alternative becomes a target itself. Companies spent two years shifting production into Vietnam, Mexico and Brazil to escape China duties. Cisco has already flagged fresh exposure after Mexico drew tariffs of its own. The routes built to de-risk China are starting to carry their own risk.
