U.S. exempts Brazilian pulp and ferronickel exports from tariffs, says Mdic

The Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services (MDIC) reported on Thursday, 11, that the new U.S. Executive Order (EO), released on September 5, has removed most Brazilian exports of pulp and ferronickel from the 10% tariff. In practice, these products are now exempt from surcharges, meaning that neither the 10% nor the 40% rate will apply to them. Coffee and cocoa exports from Brazil, however, remain subject to a 50% tariff, the Ministry clarified.

Last year, Brazil exported about US$1.84 billion in pulp and ferronickel to the U.S., representing 4.6% of total Brazilian exports to that market. With this change, these items join other products already excluded from additional tariffs, meaning that together they account for 25.1% of Brazil’s exports to the U.S., based on 2024 sales.

See below a history of Brazilian ferronickel to the USA from January to July 2022 to 2025. The chart was prepared with DataLiner data:

Brazilian Ferronickel exports to USA | Jan-July 2022-2025 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (Click here to request a demo)

The Ministry also explained that another ten products benefited from the removal of the 10% tariff but remain subject to the 40% rate. These include certain raw minerals, nickel, and herbicides, whose Brazilian exports to the U.S. totaled approximately US$113 million in 2024.

The Executive Order also revised the list of exceptions under the April decision that had introduced the 10% tariff. As a result, 76 products remain subject only to Section 232 tariffs—as they already were—while seven items linked to chemical inputs and industrial plastics will now face the 10% tariff in addition to the 40% rate applied exclusively to Brazil.

These seven items represented about US$145 million in Brazilian exports to the U.S. in 2024.

Currently, around 34.9% of Brazilian exports to the U.S. (US$14.1 billion) are subject to the combined 10% and 40% tariffs established under the American executive orders from April and July. Another 16.7% (US$6.8 billion) are subject to the reciprocal 10% tariff, while 25.1% (US$10.1 billion) remain exempt from additional duties.

Products covered under Section 232, which imposes specific tariffs, represent 23.3% of Brazil’s exports to the U.S., equivalent to US$9.4 billion.

Source: Valor Econômico

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