US must maintain tariff cap in agreements with EU, Japan and other partners, says trade representative

Experts assess that, as with the 2025 tariff, there is room for Brazil to negotiate this new US tariff threat
Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction
The United States will respect the tariff limits set out in trade agreements signed with the European Union, Japan and other countries, said this Thursday (4) the US trade representative, Jamieson Greer.
"We understand that an agreement is an agreement", Greer told reporters at margin of an OECD ministerial meeting in Paris.
Bookmark g1 on Google and follow the day's top news
The US has reached agreements with the European Union and Japan that limit American tariffs on most imports from those partners to a maximum of 15%.
On Tuesday, however, Greer's office announced a new set of tariffs after concluding that some economies had failed to restrict trade in goods made with forced labor. Under the measure, the European Union would face a 10% tariff, and Japan, 12.5%.
Trump accuses Brazil of forced labor in livestock, but exempts beef from new tariff
An additional Section 301 investigation into excess manufacturing capacity could cause overall tariffs on products from both economies to exceed 15%.
Commenting on the agreement with the European Union, Greer said the text recognizes that the United States can impose tariffs "to a certain level" and that Section 301 investigations gave President Donald Trump the authority to do so.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speaks to the press on the day he attends a working lunch with EU trade ministers in Brussels, Belgium, November 24, 2025.
Piroschka van de Wouw/Reuters

Source: G1