The Brazilian government decided to end a tax exemption on imports of ethanol with immediate effect, according to a report published late on Wednesday on the country's Agriculture Ministry website.

The measure would mostly hurt the ethanol industry from the United States, the country that accounts for nearly all the Brazilian imports of the fuel. U.S. ethanol producers supply part of the ethanol consumed in the Northeastern region of Brazil.

From now on, ethanol imports will pay a tax of 16% to enter Brazil, until the end of the year. That levy will rise to 18% in 2024, the note said.

The administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro had zeroed the ethanol import tax last March, as part of other measures to reduce costs of fuel and food.

The decision to end the exemption happens days before new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva travels to the U.S. to meet President Joe Biden.

Brazil and the U.S. are the world's largest producers and exporters of ethanol.