The acting president and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, stated this Friday (21) that 22% of Brazilian exports to the United States remain subject to surcharges imposed by the North American government. The statement was given at the Palácio do Planalto, one day after the White House removes 238 products from the so-called tariff list.
According to Alckmin, the new decision represents the biggest advance so far in bilateral negotiations. He highlighted that, at the beginning of the imposition of tariffs, 36% of Brazilian sales to the North American market were subject to additional rates.
“Gradually, we had decisions that expanded the exemptions. With the withdrawal of 238 products, we reduced the share of exports subject to tariffs to 22%,” he said.
The measure announced by US President Donald Trump revokes the 40% extra fee for a list of mostly agricultural items, such as coffee, beef, banana, tomato, açaí, cashew nuts and tea. THE exemption has retroactive effect to November 13th and will allow refunds for products already exported.
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Impact on exports
Data from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC) indicate that, based on the US$40.4 billion exported by Brazil to the USA in 2024:
- US$8.9 billion remains subject to an additional tariff of 40% (or 10% plus 40%, depending on the product);
- US$6.2 billion continues to face the extra 10% tariff;
- US$14.3 billion is free of surcharges;
- $10.9 billion remains under Section 232 horizontal tariffs, applied to sectors such as steel and aluminum.
According to the MDIC’s Secretary of Foreign Trade, Tatiana Prazeres, the The share of Brazilian exports completely free of additional tariffs has increased by 42% since the beginning of the crisis.
She considered, however, that the industrial sector continues to be the most affected and requires greater attention from the government. “For the industry, the search for alternative markets is more complex than for commodities,” he stated.
Embraer aircraft, for example, remain subject to the 10% tariff.
Negotiations continue
Alckmin stated that the US decision was influenced by the recent dialogue between Trump and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during a meeting in Malaysia in October. The Brazilian government sent a proposal for a trade agreement to the US on November 4, the content of which was not detailed.
The acting president reiterated that the country seeks to advance negotiations to remove new products from the list of tariffed items. He mentioned that tariff and non-tariff topics remain on the discussion agenda, including areas such as rare earths, big techs, renewable energy and the Special Taxation Regime for Data Center Services (Redata).
Alckmin also confirmed that Lula presented to Trump, in addition to the tariff reduction request, questions about the application of the Magnitsky Actwhich resulted in sanctions against Brazilian authorities.
According to the acting president, there is still no planned meeting between the presidents, although Lula has invited the North American president to visit Brazil.
Most sensitive sectors
Despite the relief for several agricultural items, the government assesses that industrial products remain the main focus of concern. Some of these segments, especially goods with higher added value or manufactured to order, have more difficulty redirecting exports to other markets.
Alckmin stated that he will remain committed to seeking new exceptions. “We remain optimistic. The work is not finished, but it is progressing with fewer barriers”, he declared.
