US tariffs on Brazil are a bitter pill for sugar and ethanol makers

While Brazil's ethanol industry was once dominated by sugarcane growers, corn and grain ethanol output has exploded in recent years as the South American country explores all manner of ethanol feedstocks. With its new tariffs, the U.S. is demonstrating it wants better access to the Brazilian ethanol market without making concessions for sugar imports from Brazil, Renato Cunha, executive president of Brazilian sugar and bioenergy association NovaBio, said in an interview. "They want to export ethanol to a country that has no need to import it," Cunha said. "That isn't negotiation, it's imposition — they are different things." "The decision disregards significant asymmetries in the trade relationship between the two countries," UNICA said in a statement. "Brazilian sugar exports remain subject to tariffs and market access restrictions imposed by the United States, whereas Brazil maintains a non-discriminatory policy regarding ethanol." U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer justified the new 25% tariffs — which are expected to take effect on July 22 — on thousands of Brazilian products by citing what he called unfair trade practices, an accusation rejected by Brazil. Among the reasons given by Greer was current U.S. access to Brazil's ethanol market. Brazil's imports of ethanol from the U.S. have declined significantly over the past several years, USTR data show. In a statement, Brazilian corn ethanol association UNEM said the South American country's tariff was in accordance with World Trade Organization rules, adding that no bilateral agreement with the United States was being violated. The reduction in Brazil's imports of U.S. ethanol stems from the expansion of domestic corn ethanol production, which increased the domestic supply, UNEM said. Brazil's ethanol and sugar producers on Thursday despaired at the imposition of new 25% tariffs on Brazilian goods by the U.S. government, lamenting a rollback in cooperation between the two countries. According to the Union of the Sugarcane and Bioenergy Industry (UNICA), the U.S. accounted for 253 million liters of ethanol exports in 2025, worth $163 million, making the North American country the sector's second-most important foreign market after South Korea. In the same year, the U.S. also accounted for 420,000 metric tons of sugar exports from Brazil, the world's top sugar producer, representing a significant drop from the 1.12 million tons Brazil exported to the North American country in 2024.

US tariffs on Brazil are a bitter pill for sugar and ethanol makers

Domestic corn ethanol production has expanded

Executives say the US wants better market access

Industry groups challenge the trade justification

Brazilian sugar and ethanol producers react to new US tariffs

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