Action by the United States in the Investigation Under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 of Brazil's Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Digital Trade and Electronic Payment Services; Unfair, Preferential Tariffs; Anti-Corruption Enforcement; Intellectual Property Protection; Ethanol Market Access; and Illegal Deforestation

A Section 301 measure is a U.S. trade action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) uses this authority to investigate and respond to acts, policies, or practices of another country that may be unfair, discriminatory, or harmful to U.S. commerce. The action may involve findings, negotiations, monitoring, or trade remedies such as additional duties, depending on the official measure.

For an importer, the key issue is whether the imported product falls within the measure’s product scope and country-of-origin rules. Affected goods may be subject to an additional duty, often described as a Section 301 tariff, in addition to the ordinary customs duty. The measure can matter even if the seller, shipper, or manufacturer is located somewhere other than Brazil; customs generally focuses on the legally determined country of origin and the product’s tariff classification.

What to check

• Check the official measure for its product scope, including the covered Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings and any product descriptions.
• Confirm the product’s country of origin under U.S. customs rules; do not rely solely on the shipping country or the location of the seller.
• Review the measure’s effective-entry rules, exclusions, product-specific exceptions, and any required documentation before filing the entry.
• Ask your customs broker or trade specialist to verify whether the Section 301 treatment is additional to ordinary duty and how it should be reported on the entry.
• Keep classification, sourcing, manufacturing, invoices, and origin records that support the tariff treatment claimed; obtain professional advice when classification or origin is uncertain.