Sectors such as coffee and meat have regained their ability to compete in the US market; The end of the 40% tariff is added to another, 10%, which was abolished last week
The decision of the President of the United States, Donald Trump (Republican Party), on agricultural products, brought a immediate and significant relief for some sectors of Brazilian agribusiness.
Contrary to initial expectations of only a partial reduction in the tariff, this Thursday’s measure (Nov 20, 2025) exempted key Brazilian products from the heavy 40% surcharge, restoring the country’s competitiveness in the North American market.
In practice, the total Brazilian tariff for these items fell by a prohibitive 50% (the specific 40% + the global 10%) for the base rates (in some cases, zero).
With this, the “competitive imbalance” that threatened national exports was dismantled. Brazil’s competitors, who also had the 10% tariff zeroed, will no longer have the unfair advantage of operating exempt while the Brazilian product remains taxed.
The president (PT) celebrated. “Now I’m happy”he said, hours after the announcement of the end of Trump’s tariffs.
The former Secretary of Foreign Trade of the (Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services), Welber Barral, who previously outlined a scenario of market loss, sees an opportunity for recovery with the end of Trump’s tariffs. According to him, the threat of competitors such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam taking over Brazilian space has been neutralized.
The result, says Barral, is that Brazil avoids a drop in exports. “The asymmetry with the 40% rate resulted in a sharp drop in exports, as the country was unable to place the excess volume rejected by the giant American market in other markets.”
End of Disadvantage
A detailed analysis by sector shows which main export chains have regained competitiveness:
- Café: the big winner. Brazil, the main supplier, escaped the 40% tariff. Now, it competes again with Colombia and Vietnam under the same tariff conditions, preserving its leadership;
- Beef: Brazil, the second largest supplier, got rid of the 40% rate. This allows it to face competition from Australia and USMCA partners (Mexico and Canada) without the price barrier that would make the national product unviable.
American Inflation
President Trump’s decision must have taken into account inflationary pressure in the US, experts say. “Coffee was putting pressure on inflation in the US. For every 1 dollar of coffee imported, US$43 dollars are added to the American economy”, declared Marcos Matos, general director of the Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé).
According to Matos, coffee was the product with the highest inflation rate in the USA, reaching “9 times above average inflation”. He feared that competitors would take the place of the Brazilian blend, because the American consumer could adapt to other sensory standards.
