12.5% additional duty over failure to enforce the forced labor import ban
In force- Applied by
- EUA
- Affects
- Brasil
- Additional rate
- +12,5%
- In force
Scope
All products of Brazil, except those excluded in Annex I and Annex II, Part A. USTR found that 54 of the 60 investigated economies failed to impose and effectively enforce the prohibition on importing goods produced with forced labor; Brazil is eighth on the list. The measure operates through HTSUS subheadings 9903.05.20 to 9903.05.84. Goods already subject to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 are exempt, and 471 additional products were excluded beyond the list proposed on 2026-06-05.
Legal basis
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 — investigations initiated on 2026-03-12 (91 Fed. Reg. 12884) covering 60 economies. USTR Notice of Actions published in the Federal Register on 2026-07-28 (doc. 2026-15181), following the Presidential Memorandum of 2026-07-23 (doc. 2026-15274).
This surcharge is CUMULATIVE with the 25% duty from the other Section 301 action: the Chapter 99 note in both acts provides that goods subject to one are also subject to any additional duty provided for in the same subchapter. For merchandise absent from both exclusion annexes, combined exposure reaches 37.5%. Brazil pays the full 12.5% — the alternative treatment, 12.5% net of the MFN duty, was reserved for the European Union, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Switzerland. An in-transit rule applies: goods loaded onto a vessel and in transit before 12:01 a.m. eastern time on 2026-07-24 are spared, provided they are entered for consumption before 12:01 a.m. on 2026-07-28. The two measures have separate exclusion annexes, so a product may be exempt from one and caught by the other.