Brazil risks a reapplication of U.S. tariffs due to a large trade surplus with the Iranian Republic after the U.S. president threatens economic sanctions for governments doing business with the pariah state.
Brazil, in 2025, retained a $2.9 billion trade surplus with the Middle East nation, according to government data, making the South American country susceptible to additional U.S. tariffs after President Trump vowed to sanction governments with trade agreements with Iran. President Trump recently warned that Iran’s Islamic Republic will be faced with “strong options”, suggesting potential military action in response to its brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters.
On Tuesday, President Trump urged demonstrators in Iran to “KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS” in a post on social media, later announcing, “any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a 25% tariff on any and all business being done in the United States of America.”
In late November, President Trump signed an executive order exempting a spate of Brazilian goods, mainly meat and coffee, from U.S. import tariffs following a tumultuous year for U.S.-Brazil relations.
In October, Trump and Brazilian President Lula da Silva agreed to reconcile their differences during a bilateral meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during the ASEAN Summit (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).
The two governments previously sparred over the controversial prosecution of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment, and free speech censorship concerns involving U.S. companies operating in Brazil.
In December, the administration in Washington lifted sanctions on top Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, effectively thawing relations between the two American governments.
However, with the threat of U.S. military action on the table in response to violence towards demonstrators by Iran’s repressive security forces, continued Brazilian trade with Iran—which is now in U.S. crosshairs—could likely elicit another round of sanctions from Washington.
