In a recent Law360 article, Thompson Coburn partner Robert Shapiro notes that while Brazilian tariffs likely won’t impact rulings, they may complicate the decision-making process.
The U.S. recently imposed steep tariffs on Brazilian imports—raising the rate to 50%—under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). While these tariffs may be vulnerable to legal challenges, stakeholders believe they will keep U.S.-Brazil trade relations uncertain for the time being.
“Any court is going to be fairly narrow with regard to IEEPA as used in the case before it, and the Brazil case isn’t before it yet,” Shapiro said. “I think that the court has to be really careful on how it views the IEEPA tariffs for a whole bunch of reasons, but one of them is it doesn’t want to overreach because it doesn’t know future events.”
