🇺🇸 25% tariffs on the way?

Last Thursday, the US government designated Brazil's largest crime syndicates as terrorist organizations, in a move that has unsettled the Brazilian financial system. Four days later, the other shoe dropped: the US Trade Representative proposed a 25% tariff on most Brazilian exports, labeling several Brazilian practices “unreasonable.”

The threat is not yet live. It opens a window for public comment — written submissions due July 1, a hearing on July 6 — but the direction of travel is unmistakable. 

Three and a half weeks ago, Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump met in Washington, and the two sides pledged to negotiate tariffs within a 30-day window — one that would only expire next week. Despite that recent effort, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the two governments “continue to have substantial differences.” 

We had warned you that the meeting, cordial as it was, had brought no breakthrough on the threats hovering over Brazil.

The main US grievances against Brazil are as follows:

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