The request was formalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which stated in an official note that the procedure concerns two measures adopted by the United States under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

  The first US action—the imposition of an additional 25 percent tariff on goods imported from Brazil—stemmed from a specific investigation into the South American nation.

  That inquiry examined aspects related to digital trade, electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, the enforcement of anti-corruption legislation, intellectual property protection, ethanol market access, and policies to combat illegal deforestation.

  The second measure imposed an additional 12.5 percent tariff and arose from an investigation covering 60 nations, in which Washington assessed the existence and enforcement of bans on the import of goods produced wholly or partially through forced labor.

  The Brazilian government states that both measures are unjustified and incompatible with obligations assumed by the United States under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of 1994 and the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Understanding.

  According to the newspaper *Folha de S.Paulo*, the combination of both levies could raise the tariff burden on certain Brazilian products to as much as 37.5 percent.

  The government estimates that 16.5 percent of the country’s exports to the United States are simultaneously affected by the two tariffs, including machinery and equipment, wood, fats and oils, footwear, furniture, and apparel.

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