Brazil formally opened a reciprocity procedure against the United States on August 13, 2026, in response to new American tariffs on Brazilian goods — a move that signals potential countermeasures but stops well short of imposing them.
The step was taken under Law 15.122/2025, Brazil's Reciprocity Law, which President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed in April 2025 specifically to give his government a structured legal mechanism for responding to foreign trade actions it considers unfair. Before the law existed, officials said Brazil lacked the domestic toolkit to act in kind.
The procedure is now in the hands of Camex, Brazil's foreign-trade board, which has a reported 30-day window to map possible responses. Separately, Itamaraty — the country's Foreign Ministry — is expected to notify Washington and seek bilateral diplomatic consultations.
No counter-tariffs or restrictions on American goods have been imposed as a result of the opening. The process begins a review; it does not end one.
The dispute centres on two sets of US measures. The first is a 25% tariff on a range of Brazilian goods — including sugar, clothing, paper, and steel — which took effect on July 22, 2026, with Washington citing unfair trade practices. The second is a separate 12.5% duty applied to Brazil and dozens of other countries, linked to allegations of lax enforcement of forced-labour bans. Brazil has called that tariff arbitrary and unjustified.
The options Camex is reported to be examining are broad. They include suspending pharmaceutical and agricultural patents, curbing dividend and royalty payments by US audiovisual companies, imposing new taxes or fees, and restricting imports of American goods or services, according to Reuters. Whether any of these will be recommended, and which sectors would be targeted, remains unknown.
Brazil's Finance Minister Dario Durigan has been careful about how the government frames the exercise. He has described it as evaluating 'reciprocal measures' rather than retaliation, pledging fiscal caution and a continued willingness to negotiate with Washington. The language is deliberate: Brasília is keeping the pressure calibrated, preserving room to either escalate or settle.
Brazil has also pursued a parallel track at the World Trade Organization (WTO). On July 27, 2026, it filed a consultation request arguing that the US tariffs are inconsistent with American obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and WTO dispute settlement rules, Reuters reported. That process runs independently of the domestic reciprocity review.
The stakes on both sides are considerable. US-Brazil goods trade totalled $94.3 billion in 2025, with the US holding a $14.4 billion surplus. Any significant Brazilian countermeasures would put a relationship of that size at risk.
How Washington responds to the formal reciprocity opening, and whether bilateral talks produce an agreement before Camex concludes its review, will determine whether the dispute remains a legal procedure or becomes something more disruptive for both economies.
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