The White House announced a one-year extension of the US national emergency regarding Brazil. The decision keeps in effect the executive order signed by the US president on July 30, 2025, declaring that the Brazilian government’s policies and actions pose an “unusual and extraordinary” threat to US national security, foreign policy, and the economy.

The statement was released on Tuesday (Jul. 28) and will be published on Wednesday (29) in the Federal Register, the official gazette of the US government. It will also be forwarded to the US Congress. With this renewal, the national emergency will remain in effect until at least July 30, 2027.

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In its justification, the US government states that the conditions that gave rise to Executive Order 14323 continue to exist. According to the text, members of the Brazilian government are adopting policies and practices that interfere with the US economy, violate human rights, restrict the freedom of expression of US citizens, and undermine the country’s interests in protecting its citizens and businesses.

The document also cites actions by Brazil’s Supreme Court. According to the White House, the Court’s decisions ordering the removal of online content and the arrest of individuals for protesting are examples of “censorship” and continue to pose a threat to US interests.

The US government also reiterated that a former Brazilian president, his family, and his supporters are being subjected to political persecution, which, according to the White House, undermines the rule of law and contributes to human rights violations in Brazil.

US offensive

The US renewal of the national emergency comes after a year of escalating tensions between the US and Brazilian governments. Since the executive order was issued in July 2025, the Trump administration has adopted a series of measures against Brazil, including launching trade investigations, imposing tariffs on Brazilian products, and criticizing Supreme Court decisions on content moderation by digital platforms and cases involving former President Jair Bolsonaro.

In response, the Brazilian government has intensified diplomatic negotiations with US officials and challenged the measures at the World Trade Organization (WTO), arguing that the tariffs violate international trade rules. Members of the Brazilian executive branch have also reiterated that the judiciary acts independently, while the Supreme Court maintains that its decisions comply with the Constitution and national legislation. Despite the negotiations and Brazilian official statements, the Trump administration has maintained and expanded the measures over the past year.

On Monday (Jul. 27), the Brazilian government filed a request for consultations with the United States through the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement system, challenging two tariff measures adopted under Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil considers the tariffs to be unjustified and inconsistent with the obligations assumed by the United States under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994 (GATT 1994) and the rules governing the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism.

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One of the contested measures stems from a Section 301 investigation into Brazil and imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on Brazilian products. The investigation examined issues such as digital trade and electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, the enforcement of anti-corruption legislation, intellectual property protection, access to the ethanol market, and efforts to combat illegal deforestation.

The second measure resulted from an investigation involving 60 economies and imposed an additional 12.5 percent tariff on Brazilian products. In this case, the investigation focused on the existence and enforcement of restrictions on the importation of goods produced, in whole or in part, with forced labor.

The request for consultations represents the first formal stage of the WTO dispute settlement process. At this stage, the parties seek to negotiate a solution to the dispute before a panel is established to review the case.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the initiative seeks to challenge the consistency of the US tariff measures with multilateral trade rules.

Tariff hike

The new tariffs announced by the United States will affect Brazilian products worth USD 6.6 billion exported to the US market, according to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services.

The ministry estimates that the cumulative 37.5 percent surcharge will affect 16.5 percent of Brazilian exports to the US.

The affected products include machinery and equipment, various types of wood, fats and oils, footwear, furniture, and apparel.