Brazilian exports to the United States fell 11.3% in April compared to the same month last year, while sales to China grew 32.5% in the period. The data was released this Thursday (7) by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex), linked to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (Mdic).
Sales to the United States totaled US$3.121 billion in April this year, compared to US$3.517 billion recorded in April 2025. Imports of North American products fell 18.1%, from US$3.780 billion to US$3.097 billion.
With these numbers, the trade balance between Brazil and the United States ended April with a surplus of US$20 million for the Brazilian side.
Tariffs weigh
This was the ninth consecutive drop in Brazilian exports to the North American market since the imposition of the 50% surcharge applied by the government of US President Donald Trump, in mid-2025.
Despite the removal of part of Brazilian products from the tariff list at the end of last year, the Mdic estimates that 22% of Brazilian exports continue to be subject to imposed taxes in July 2025. The group includes items subject only to the additional rate of 40% and also products that accumulate the extra rate with the base rate of 10%.
According to the director of the Department of Statistics and Foreign Trade Studies, Herlon Brandão, the numbers indicate a gradual recovery in trade flow.
“We still see a reduction in exports, but it has been recovering over the months. This year, we surpassed US$ 3 billion after several months below that level”, he stated.
Chinese advance
In the opposite direction, Brazilian exports to China grew 32.5% in April, reaching US$ 11.610 billion, against US$8.763 billion in the same month of 2025.
Imports from the Asian country also increased, rising 20.7%, from US$5.018 billion to US$6.054 billion.
O The result guaranteed Brazil a trade surplus of US$5.56 billion with China in the fourth month of the year.
From January to April, Brazilian exports to the Chinese market grew 25.4%, totaling US$35.61 billion. Imports had a slight drop of 0.4%, totaling US$ 23.96 billion.
As a result, Brazil’s surplus with China in the period reached US$11.65 billion.
Oil retreats
The director of Secex also commented on the drop in Brazilian crude oil exports recorded last month. According to Herlon Brandão, the movement is related to the volatility of the international market and not to the export tax created by the government to finance the reduction in the price of diesel.
The measure was adopted amid the international rise in oil prices caused by the war in Iran.
“It is possible that we will see this increase again the following month. So I believe that it is not possible to attribute it to an issue of the crude oil export tax,” he said.
Brandão also stated that Brazil remains competitive in the oil sector due to the low production cost and strong external demand, which could favor a resumption of exports in May.
In April, crude oil exports rose more than 10% compared to April last year, but the increase has to do with the 23.7% increase in average prices, influenced by the war in the Middle East. The volume exported fell 10.6% last month, according to Secex.
