Exports rise 3.3% in the third quarter despite Trump’s tariff hike

Brazilian exports of goods and services grew 3.3% in the third quarter of this year, according to data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) on Thursday, the 4th. The positive result compared with the previous three months came despite the United States’ tariff hike on Brazil, which took effect in August. Compared with the third quarter of 2024, exports increased 7.2%.

For most of the third quarter, products such as meat and coffee were subject to a 50% tariff to enter the U.S., which led to an 18.5% drop in Brazilian exports to the country in August compared with the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services (MDIC).

Brazil, however, diversified its commercial partnerships amid American protectionism, allowing global exports to rise nearly 4% in the same month. The quarterly data released by IBGE reinforces the positive trend for the sector.

The Trump administration decided to withdraw a 40% surcharge on a series of Brazilian products at the end of November. The main items no longer subject to the tax were meat and coffee. When announcing the removal of the tariff on these products, the U.S. president cited a conversation he had with Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in early November. “We had a great conversation, and we’re going to start doing business,” Trump said at the time.

The growth in Brazilian exports in the third quarter of 2025 is due to the “increase in extractive industry production,” according to economist Rafael Perez of Suno Research, who also highlights the “redirecting of exports to other trade partners, which ended up offsetting the impact of tariffs imposed by the U.S.”

Below is a historical overview of Brazilian containerized exports from January to October over the past four years. The chart was prepared using DataLiner data:

Brazilian Container Exports | Jan 2022 to Oct 2025 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (Click here to request a demo)

More favorable international soybean prices — one of Brazil’s main export products — also contributed to the upward movement, according to Perez. Igor Rocha, chief economist at Fiesp, likewise notes that exports were “driven by the increase in grain sales.”

Brazilian imports grew in the third quarter, but at a significantly slower pace than exports. A 0.3% increase pushed the trade balance higher in the three months ending in September compared with the previous period. Compared with the same period last year, imports rose 2.2%.

Source: Veja

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