Fonte: ITR

Advisers hope Brazil and US reach agreement on Trump tariffs

The threat of 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods coincides with new Brazilian legal powers to adopt retaliatory economic measures, local experts tell ITR.

Brazilian tax experts are hoping the US and Brazil will reach an agreement to avoid American tariffs that are set to come into effect in August.

US President Donald Trump earlier this month announced a new 50% tariff on US copper imports as well as a 50% duty on goods from Brazil, up from 10%.

Both measures are set to go live on August 1.

“America will, once again, build a dominant copper industry,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform.

Trump’s tariff order came via a letter to Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In that letter, which was posted on Truth Social, Trump expressed displeasure over what he described as a “witch hunt” trial of Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

“This trial should not be taking place. It is a witch hunt that should end immediately!” he wrote.

Retaliation

Allan Fallet, a tax partner at Duarte Garcia, Serra Netto e Terra in São Paulo, says the tariff announcement coincided with Brazil’s Economic Reciprocity Law, signed in April, which formally implements Federal Law No. 15,122/2025.

He describes this new law as “a significant and timely regulatory development”.

The law, Fallet tells ITR, is a framework that empowers Brazil’s executive branch to adopt retaliatory economic and trade measures in response to unilateral actions by foreign governments that undermine Brazil’s international competitiveness.

Such unilateral actions, according to Fallet, include tariffs, environmental restrictions, and digital regulations.

Publication of the decree marks a regulatory turning point, Fallet argues, as it transforms what was previously a dormant legal instrument into a concrete policy mechanism.

The decree authorises the Brazilian government to suspend tariff concessions and trade preferences as well as restrict intellectual property (IP)-related rights and payments.

In addition, it permits the imposition of additional levies or limitations on cross-border services.

The entry into force of this framework introduces a new layer of legal and tax uncertainty for multinational businesses with cross-border operations involving Brazil, Fallet argues.

This, according to Fallet, is particularly the case in IP-intensive industries such as technology, pharmaceuticals and entertainment.

In a nutshell, the decree signals that Brazil is now operationally equipped to respond to foreign trade pressures in a targeted and immediate fashion, according to Fallet.

“Affected businesses should closely monitor the implementation of these measures and consider engaging proactively in regulatory consultations to safeguard their interests and contractual arrangements,” he says.

Ana Paula M Costa Baruel, a partner at Baruel Barreto Advogados in Brazil, tells ITR of a “fast response” to the US government’s letter.

This, she explains, was the Brazilian government’s creation of a negotiation, trade and economic countermeasures executive committee upon receiving Trump’s letter last week.

The committee is responsible for deliberating on and implementing measures established by Law No. 15,122, Baruel notes.

Its ultimate aim is to suspend concessions in trade, investments and obligations related to IP rights whenever Brazil is facing foreign unilateral measures that negatively impact its international competitiveness.

“The creation of such [a] committee favours dialogue and settlements to avoid unwanted economic negative effects to both countries, protecting, above all, institutions and sovereignty limits,” Baruel says.

“Hopefully, an efficient solution is reached before August 1, before the tariff increase should take effect.”

Although a country can change tariff policies at any time, it was surprising to have Brazil facing such high tariffs from the US, Ana Claudia Akie Utumi, founding partner of Utumi Advogados, tells ITR.

Before Trump’s declaration, US tariffs were generally expected to increase to just 20%, she argues.

“The US and Brazil has a long history of business partnerships, and Brazil has deficits in exports to the US. I hope that both countries can reach to an agreement on a lower level of tariffs.

“Brazilian products may not be competitive in the US with such high taxation, and many sectors in Brazil that depend on exporting to the US are concerned about having their products taxed so heavily,” she says.