Brazil Opens Formal Reciprocity Process Against U.S. Tariffs

Overview

• Brazil initiated an ordinary pleito under the Lei da Reciprocidade on Friday, opening a formal administrative review and ordering the Brazilian Embassy in Washington to notify the United States and request diplomatic consultations.
• The move runs alongside a separate WTO case that challenges two U.S. tariffs and for which the United States has accepted Brazil's request for consultations.
• The law allows two paths: provisional measures that can be applied immediately by an interministerial committee and ordinary countermeasures that require a Camex review, a public consultation of up to 30 days, and final approval by Camex's Strategic Council.
• The dispute targets a 25% tariff imposed under Section 301 and a 12.5% tariff tied to alleged forced-labor concerns, which Brasília calls discriminatory and says it has rebutted with evidence submitted to USTR.
• Industry groups have urged continued negotiation to limit economic damage and the government says it prefers diplomacy but has left provisional measures on the table pending Camex and interministerial decisions.