Despite US President Donald Trump’s decision to remove an additional 40% tariff on a range of Brazilian products, more than 62% of Brazil’s exports to the United States are still subject to some type of additional tariff.
According to calculations by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil, after Trump’s executive order on Thursday (11/20), the proportion of Brazilian exports to the US market exempt from any additional duties rose from 28% to 37%.
CNI indicates that this amount represents US$15.7 billion. However, according to the entity, 32.7% of exports to the United States (US$13.8 billion) remain subject to a combined 50% tariff (10% of so-called reciprocal tariffs and 40% of additional Brazil-specific tariffs).
Furthermore, another 3.8% (US$1.6 billion) continues with an additional 40% tariff, and 7% (US$2.9 billion) at a reciprocal rate of 10%. The institute states that these calculations take into account data from 2024, based on statistics from the US International Trade Commission.
According to calculations by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), based on US$40.4 billion exported from Brazil to the USA last year, US$8.9 billion remain subject to the additional tariff at 40% and US$6.2 billion at a rate of 10%. $14.3 billion free of surcharges.
“This was the biggest progress in negotiations between Brazil and the United States,” Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who also heads the ministry, said at a press conference, citing MDIC accounts.
“When it started, we had tariffs on 36% of Brazilian exports. Now, we have 22%,” Alckmin said.
Trump’s executive order removed additional tariffs on the import of 238 products from Brazil. These include coffee, beef, cocoa, fruits, juices, etc.
The ambush considered the announcement an important step in the negotiations.
However, manufactured products – such as machinery, equipment, furniture and shoes – are not included and remain subject to the additional 40%.
Items such as fish and honey also remain subject to additional fees.
Manufactured products, with the highest added value, are of great importance to the Brazilian economy and are therefore an important point in the negotiations.
The Brazilian government said in a statement after Trump’s announcement that “Brazil will continue to conduct negotiations with the United States with the aim of eliminating additional tariffs on the remainder of the bilateral trade agenda.”
According to CNI’s international relations supervisor, Frederico Lamego, “the news is progressing.”
“It indicates a very big change regarding the scenario in July (when additional tariffs of 40% on Brazilian products were announced),” Lamego tells BBC News Brazil.
However, Lamego highlights that of the more than 62% still subject to various rates, “the majority are manufactured products.”
Negotiations
In Thursday’s order, Trump confirmed that the decision applies retroactively to products that entered the United States as of November 13.
On that date, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held their last meeting in Washington to discuss negotiations.
After the meeting, and in a short conversation with reporters, Vieira expressed his expectation that it would be possible to reach an interim agreement by the end of this month or the beginning of December.
The next day (11/14), the White House announced the suspension of part of the so-called “reciprocal tariffs” of 10%, which were implemented in April, on a series of agricultural industrial products from several countries, including Brazil.
Among the Brazilian products included in this measure are coffee, beef cuts, acai, Brazil nuts, tapioca, cassava and fruits such as bananas, oranges and coconuts. But the announcement did not address the additional 40% customs duties imposed on Brazil.
These additional 40% duties on Brazilian products were announced in July and took effect in August, in response to the impeachment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ideological ally of Trump.
In addition to the political motive, the US government at the time claimed a deficit in the trade relationship with Brazil. However, this justification is not supported by official data that shows a surplus for the United States.
Days after Trump’s announcement, the executive order affirming the additional tariffs on Brazil exempted about 700 products from these additional duties.
This week’s announcement expanded that list of exceptions.
Inflation and conversation with Lola
Trump’s announcement this week comes in the context of domestic pressure, with the prices of many products for American consumers rising, including coffee.
The United States is the largest consumer of coffee in the world, and a third of it is imported from Brazil.
Many experts interpreted the state and municipal elections that took place this month in the United States, in which Democratic candidates won many disputes, as a sign of American consumers’ dissatisfaction with rising prices.
But in his executive order, Trump specifically referred to a conversation with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The text read: “On October 6, 2025, I participated in a telephone conversation with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, during which we agreed to begin negotiations to address the concerns identified in Executive Decree No. 14323 (which implemented the 40% tariff). These negotiations are ongoing.”
A few weeks after this call, the two leaders met face to face in Malaysia, during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.
There is an expectation of meeting a new person at some point. Lula has already indicated that he would like to travel to Washington, and said that Trump is invited to visit Brazil.
When he spoke to reporters in Washington last week, the Brazilian advisor indicated that the broader negotiations, which include specific details on each sector, “may last two or three months.”
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