The list of about 100 products included luxury consumer items such as cosmetics (shampoos, cologne, beauty creams), appliances (television sets, sound and kitchen equipment) and cars.

Up to 238 million dollars in penalties may also be applied in the intellectual property and services sectors.

In a landmark decision, the World Trade Organization (WTO) allowed Brazil to impose up to 829.3 million dollars in retaliatory sanctions against the United States over unfair US cotton subsidies.

The United States expressed regret at the Brazilian action, saying it preferred to resolve the issue through negotiations.

"We are disappointed to learn that Brazil's authorities have decided to proceed with countermeasures against US trade in the WTO cotton dispute," said Nefeterius McPherson, spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative.

"USTR is working to reach a solution to the issues in this dispute without Brazil resorting to countermeasures and we continue to prefer a negotiated solution," she said.

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will travel to Brasilia on Tuesday, US embassy officials said, as the two countries remain engaged in negotiations to settle the dispute.

On March 3, Brazil gave the United States a 30-day deadline to reach a bilateral agreement to avoid higher levies.

"There is time for us to resolve this in a peaceful and productive way without any further action," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a visit to Brazil last week.

Carlos Marcio Cozendey, head of the economics division at the Brazilian foreign affairs ministry, said "we want a comprehensive solution to this issue; so far we have not received a concrete response."

The WTO in June 2008 ruled that subsidies to US cotton producers were discriminatory.

Under WTO rules, sanctions can be imposed until the offending party brings its trade regime into line with international rules.

Bilateral trade between Brazil and the United States reached 46.3 billion dollars last year.