The State Government of Ceará published Decree 36,828/2025, on Wednesday (4), expanding mitigation measures to increased tariffs against Brazilian imports started in August by the United States. According to the document, “for all legal purposes, the emergency situation resulting from the tariff increase is recognized.”
The measure, signed by the governor, Elmano de Freitas da Costa, aims to facilitate the adoption of measures and the coordination of defense actions for workers and companies.
The state is the one with the highest predominance in the United States as an export destination, above 44%Selling steel products, fruits, fish, wind blades and other items.
Its products are also among the least contemplated by the exceptions established in the American Decree. More than 90% of Ceará’s exporting agenda to the United States is still affected by a 50% increase in rates.
Among the ongoing actions to support the local economy, the state government maintains open until Friday (5) a publication of support for food production companies.
The state will buy, from those that prove to drop in export volume for the US, compared to the average second half of 2024, in products such as honey, chestnut, fish fillet, coconut water and cashew.
Tariffs and Sanctions
The 50% rates announced by the US government against Brazilian products are among the highest in force in the trade war promoted by President Donald Trump against commercial allies.
The surcharge is part of a series of measures put into practice by the US government against Brazil and Brazilian authorities, such as a commercial investigation into Pix and financial sanctions against the Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes.
The magistrate is a rapporteur of the coup plot process, in which former President Jair Bolsonaro and allies are accused of conspiring to reverse the result of the 2022 elections and to try a coup d’état, which culminated in the attacks of the three powers on January 8, 2023.
For Trump, Moraes pursues the former president and violates freedom of expression by demanding that social networks from American companies comply with the laws and decisions of Brazilian justice. In the United States since March, federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro was indicted for coercion crimes in the course of the process and attempted abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law for acting in favor of sanctions to Brazil. Jair Bolsonaro was also indicted for the same crimes.
