Brazil’s trade deficit with the United States should help the country stay out of the focus of the increase in tariffs promised by President-elect Donald Trump, said this Monday (6) the Secretary of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Development, Industry , Commerce and Services (Mdic), Tatiana Prazeres. According to Tatiana, the Brazilian government intends to work to maintain and deepen economic ties with the largest economy on the planet.
According to Mdic statistics, in 2024, Brazil had a small trade deficit of US$253 million with the United States. The country exported US$40.330 billion and imported US$40.583 billion last year, which makes the United States Brazil’s second largest trading partner, the second largest destination for Brazilian goods and the third largest source of imports.
“Brazil, in the American government’s own accounting, when adding goods and services, accounts for the sixth largest trade surplus in the United States. The issue of trade surplus or deficit is something that seems to draw the attention of the next United States government and, in this regard, the fact that Americans accumulate a surplus with Brazil should be taken into account”, said the secretary when presenting the data. from the 2024 trade balance.
According to Tatiana Prazeres, discussions at the Brazil–United States Commercial Dialogue, a direct channel of dialogue between the Mdic, the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) and the International Trade Administration (ITA), will contribute to strengthening commercial relations and economic ties between the two countries. The most recent meeting took place in September last year.
Another factor that should contribute to the strengthening of economic relations are the strong links between Brazilian and North American companies and companies from the United States with branches in Brazil. “The significant intercompany flow between Brazil and the United States should mean that the commercial relationship is not just spared, but privileged”, highlighted the secretary.
Records
Tatiana highlighted that, in 2024, Brazil registered record exports to around 50 countries, including the United States, Spain, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. According to the secretary, sales of automobiles, aircraft, compressors and air pumps, beef and pork, iron ore, cellulose and fruit juices rose sharply last year.
Exports to China, however, fell 9.3% last year, both because of the fall in the international price of commodities (primary goods with international prices) and because of the slowdown in the Asian country, Brazil’s largest trading partner. In December alone, the value exported to China fell by 40.2% compared to the same month in 2023.
Imports
As for imports, which rose 9% last year and caused the trade balance surplus to fall to US$74.552 billion in 2024, the secretary stated that much of the increase was concentrated in capital goods (machines and goods used in production). In 2024, the purchase of this type of good reached the highest level in ten years, which indicates the use of imports for productive investments in Brazil.
Last year, imports of capital goods increased by 20.6% in value. The volume purchased grew 25.6%, with average prices falling 4.7%. Imports of consumer goods rose 23.4%, with a 19.1% increase in volume and a 1.3% drop in average price. Purchases of intermediate goods rose 7%, with a 15.9% increase in volume and a 9.3% drop in prices.
