U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday removed his 40% tariffs on Brazilian food products, including beef, coffee, cocoa and fruits that were imposed in July to punish Brazil over the prosecution of its former president, Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro.
Reuters cited on Friday that the move follows a similar order by the administration last Friday to remove tariffs on several agricultural products from other countries as the White House makes a U-turn on some tariffs that have increased the cost of food in the United States.
The order will affect Brazilian imports to the U.S. on or after November 13 and may require a refund of the duties collected on those goods while the tariffs were still being charged, according to the text of the order released by the White House.
Brazil normally supplies a third of the coffee used in the United States, the world's largest coffee drinker, and has more recently become an important supplier of beef, particularly the type that is used to make burgers.
U.S. retail coffee prices rose as much as 40% this year due to the tariffs and other market factors such as weather-induced production shortfalls.
Rising food prices are a major factor behind Trump's declining approval ratings, which have fallen to their lowest since his return to power, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
"You can expect some thousands of bags of Brazilian coffee that were sitting in bonded warehouses to start moving quickly to U.S. roasters," said commodities analyst Judith Ganes, president of J. Ganes Consulting.
Bonded warehouses are storage facilities where importers can leave products without paying import duties.
Several importers stored products in those facilities after the heavy Brazilian tariffs were announced, while they waited for an eventual revision of the duties.
"The decision (to lift Brazil tariffs) shows the effectiveness of the trade negotiations," said Brazilian beef industry group ABIEC, adding it will continue to work to increase its share in the market.
The White House faced questions about President Donald Trump's social media post saying Democratic lawmakers should face execution
Trump's executive order on Thursday did not mention the actions against Brazilian authorities involved in the prosecution and conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro for plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election.
Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and his wife were sanctioned through the Global Magnitsky Act, while other justices and some ministers had their U.S. visas revoked.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday he was glad that the 40% tariff was removed.
Trump Calls Reporter "Piggy"
Separately, the White House on Thursday defended President Donald Trump after he called a female reporter "piggy" as she questioned him about the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying the president's remarks reflected his frankness and transparency.
In the exchange aboard Air Force One last week, which has since gone viral, Trump leaned toward the reporter, pointed his finger and said, "Quiet, piggy" as she pressed him about a recently released Epstein email in which the New York financier claimed Trump "knew about the girls."
Asked on Thursday about the incident, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said American voters re-elected Trump for his frankness and that reporters should appreciate his openness in answering questions.
"He calls out fake news when he sees it and gets frustrated with reporters who spread false information," Leavitt said during a White House briefing, offering no evidence of false information being reported. "But he also provides unprecedented access to the press and answers questions on a near-daily basis."
On Tuesday in the Oval Office, Trump called another female reporter "a terrible person" after she asked visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and asked Trump why he had not released the Epstein files.
Trump signed legislation on Wednesday ordering the Justice Department to release documents from its long-running investigation into Epstein after initially resisting having the files become public.
The Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement this week condemning Trump's disparaging language toward the reporters, noting his history of using demeaning language to discredit women.
The White House declined to comment beyond Leavitt's earlier statement regarding Trump's "piggy" remark.
"Nobody expects presidents to be reporters' biggest fans," SPJ Executive Director Caroline Hendrie said. "But targeting women reporters with humiliating insults should not be tolerated." - November 21, 2025
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