The sharpest declines in shipments to the United States in September included coffee, Brazilian government figures show. Photo by Andre Borges/EPA
Brazil’s exports to the United States fell 20.3% in September compared with the same month last year and totaled $2.58 billion, according to official data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services.
It was the second consecutive monthly decline since new tariff surcharges imposed by the Trump administration took effect. The measures added duties of up to 50% on several Brazilian products, including coffee, meat and manufactured goods.
The sharpest declines in shipments to the United States in September were in boneless beef, which fell 66% year over year; green (unroasted) coffee, down 29%; and prepared beef products, which dropped 20.5%.
Exports of beef tallow also dropped 7.1%, while shipments of semi-manufactured iron and steel products fell 7.7%.
In the same month, U.S. imports rose 14.3%, from $3.8 billion in September 2024 to $4.35 billion. The increase in imports, combined with the export decline, left Brazil with a $1.77 billion trade deficit — the ninth straight monthly shortfall with the United States and the largest so far this year.
From January to September, Brazil’s imports from the United States totaled $34.32 billion, up 11.8%, widening the country’s trade deficit to $5.1 billion in 2025.
According to the Brazil-U.S. Trade Monitor by Amcham Brasil, Brazilian products subject to the new tariffs fell 25.7% year over year, while those exempt rose 12.3%, driven by higher shipments of oil and petroleum products.
The federal government has launched a credit support program for affected exporters, with 30 billion reais from the Export Guarantee Fund and additional resources from the BNDES development bank.
The Foreign Trade Secretariat’s monthly report said that despite lower exports to the U.S. market, Brazil’s total exports grew 7.2% in the same month, reaching $30.53 billion.
That growth was driven by increased sales to other markets. The largest increases were in shipments to Singapore (up 133.1%), India (up 124.1%) and Bangladesh (up 80.6%).
In South America, Brazilian sales rose 29.3%, driven by Argentina, where exports increased 24.9% from September last year to September this year.
