Brazil expects counterparts from the US to reduce tariffs and tries to end sanctions
The Brazilian government is working with the expectation that the partial reduction in tariffs announced by the United States will not be the last step in the negotiations, but it will also not come without change. The information is from the portal G1.
The internal expectation, according to the website, is that Washington should ask for some compensation before moving forward with new flexibilities, especially those affecting Brazilian industry, which is still heavily affected by the Donald Trump administration’s tariff package.
The first round of cuts, announced on November 20, removed the 40% surcharge on products such as meat and coffee, bringing immediate relief to agribusiness. But the complete picture of exports shows that many of the highest value-added products continue to be under pressure.
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According to data from the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, of a total of US$40.4 billion exported to the USA in 2024:
- US$ 8.9 billion continues with a 40% tariff
- US$6.2 billion faces the additional 10% tariff
- US$14.3 billion is free of surcharges
- $10.9 billion still subject to Section 232 restrictions (steel and aluminum)
The economic team and Itamaraty evaluate, according to the G1that the priority now is to remove the heaviest burden that falls on industry, the sector that puts the most pressure on the government and that most fears loss of competitiveness in the short term.
In recent analyses, executives and industrial associations have been signaling that maintaining tariffs compromises investments and blocks the entry of Brazilian products into global chains.
The sanctions that Brazil wants to resolve
The government is also trying to use the moment of rapprochement with the USA to end a set of sanctions imposed on Brazilian authorities. Among them are the suspension of ministers’ visas and the inclusion of Federal Supreme Court minister Alexandre de Moraes on the Magnitsky Law sanctions list, an issue that has become a focus of diplomatic friction in recent months.
For assistants to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), maintaining these measures does not make sense in an environment of dialogue. The perception is that, with talks resumed and more moderate political signals coming from Washington, there is an opportunity to “clear up pending issues” and rebuild the bilateral relationship on a less conflictive basis.
Moment of expectation
On the Brazilian side, there is a feeling that negotiations have entered a more predictable and less turbulent phase. Still, the industry demands urgency: the most affected products continue to lose ground in the American market, and companies say that investment decisions may be revised if uncertainty persists.
The resumption of dialogue opens space for new rounds of negotiations in the coming weeks, but the next advances will depend on the US’s willingness to make its tariff package more flexible and what it will demand in return.
