Report links the annulment of evidence to setbacks in the fight against corruption and suggests 25% tariffs on Brazilian products due to damage to trade
O Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a document in which cites the decision of minister Dias Toffoliof the Federal Supreme Court (STF), of cancel Odebrecht testsas one of the factors for .
The report is part of an investigation based on Section 301 of the Commerce Act of 1974 and proposes the application of 25% tariffs on Brazilian products.
According to the US government, Brazil has failed to maintain a sustainable level of enforcement of laws against bribery and corruption. The text specifically highlights the decision of September 2023, which annulled evidence obtained in the leniency agreement of the construction company Odebrecht within the scope of Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato). The report states that this measure led to the annulment of more than one hundred cases in the country and generated legal uncertainty for economic entities.
In addition to legal issues, the document mentions that the Brazil backtracked on global transparency standards. The fact is mentioned that, in 2024 and 2025, the country obtained low scores on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. For American researchers, the lack of punishment allows local companies to operate with undue advantagesharming US companies that are subject to strict legislation against corrupt practices abroad.
USTR research also covers other areas, such as barriers to the ethanol market, intellectual property protection, illegal deforestation e electronic payment policies that would favor the Pix system to the detriment of American companies.
In response to these practices, the United States Trade Representative proposes the imposition of additional tariffs of 25% on all goods originating in Brazil, with exceptions for informational materials and inputs that are not produced in the USA. The American government has opened a period for public comments on the measure, which will last until July, when a public hearing will be held to discuss the implementation of the surcharges.
