Brazil records slow decline in exports to US in November, says Brandão Brazil

Director of the Department of Statistics and Foreign Trade Studies, Herlon Brandão, stated that the partial removal of tariffs by the United States tends to encourage the resumption or at least a slowdown of the decline of Brazilian exports to the North American market. According to him, this measure should support the reshaping of shipments of high-value products on the agenda, especially coffee and meat.

According to data released on Thursday (4) by the Secretariat of Foreign Trade (Secex) of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade (Mdic), exports from Brazil to the United States continued to decline, a pace recorded since August. In November, there was a decline of 28.1%, lower than the 37% recorded in the previous month. From January to November, sales from Brazil to the United States fell by 6.7%.

Brazil’s trade surplus decreased in November by 13.4%

In November, the largest decline in Brazilian exports to the United States was recorded in crude oil, falling by 66% – an item that was not the target of US tariffs.

Prices for unroasted coffee fell by 55.6%, and beef prices fell by 58.6%. Both products were on the tariff list and the surcharges were removed in November, but the impact of the measure is not yet visible in the month’s data and should only be observed in subsequent readings, according to Brandao. Sales of fruit and vegetable juices fell by 40.1%, while sales of cellulose fell by 31.4%, the latter having already fallen outside the scope of the tariff previously.

According to Brandao, the data reveal a “mix” of situations, reflecting both the direct effects of tariffs applied to specific products and indirect effects, whereby the increase in prices caused by the additional duties reduced demand from North American consumers.

The director also noted the increase in Brazilian exports to China in November, which grew by 41%, compared to the same month of the previous year. This movement contrasts with the performance of the first half, when sales in the Chinese market saw an accumulated decline. “Greater Chinese demand has led to increased exports to China,” he commented.