US opens new trade investigation against Brazil

The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced this Thursday (12) the opening of a new investigation against Brazil and dozens of other countries for unfair trade practices.

According to the ministry, the focus of the American government’s new investigation will be to determine whether the acts, policies and practices of each of these economies encourage the practice of forced labor, which would create an artificial cost advantage for these countries and harm the American economy.

“These investigations will determine whether foreign governments have taken sufficient steps to ban the import of products made with forced labor and how the failure to eradicate these abhorrent practices impacts American workers and businesses,” said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

The action is based on Section 301, a provision of the American Trade Law established in 1974 that aims to investigate possible unfair practices committed by foreign countries, which end up affecting US trade.

The Trump administration said it has begun consultations with the governments of these investigated economies and that the US Trade Representative will hold hearings related to these investigations on April 28. “To ensure their considerations are taken into account, interested parties should submit written comments, requests to appear at the hearing, along with a summary of testimony, by April 15, 2026,” a USTR statement reads.

Brazil was already investigated based on Section 301

US President Donald Trump had already announced in July last year, when he imposed tariffs on imports from Brazil, the opening of an investigation into unfair trade practices.

At the time, the information was contained in the letter addressed to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). In the document, Trump cited “Brazil’s continued attacks on the digital commercial activities of American companies, as well as other unfair commercial practices” to justify the measures.

If illegalities are found during the investigation, the trade representative can apply measures to prevent economic abuses against the United States, including new tariffs and trade restrictions.

See list of countries targeted by the new investigation

1. Algeria
2. Angola
3. Argentina
4. Australia
5. Bahamas
6. Bahrain
7. Bangladesh
8. Brazil
9. Cambodia
10. Canada
11. Chile
12. China
13. Colombia
14. Costa Rica
15. Dominican Republic
16. Ecuador
17. Egypt
18. El Salvador
19. European Union
20. Guatemala
21. Guiana
22. Honduras
23. Hong Kong
24. India
25. Indonesia
26. Iraq
27. Israel
28. Japan
29. Jordan
30. Kazakhstan
31. Kuwait
32. Libya
33. Malaysia
34. Mexico
35. Morocco
36. New Zealand
37. Nicaragua
38. Nigeria
39. Norway
40. Oman
41. Pakistan
42. Peru
43. Filipinas
44. Qatar
45. Russia
46. Saudi Arabia
47. Singapore
48. South Africa
49. South Korea
50. Sri Lanka
51. Switzerland
52. Taiwan
53. Thailand
54. Trinidad e Tobago
55. Türkiye
56. United Arab Emirates
57. United Kingdom
58. Uruguay
59. Venezuela
60. Vietnam