No. 11 — Foreign Policy
Economic & commercial diplomacy
Trade, agreements and tariffs — the economic side of Brazil’s foreign relations, in official figures.
Headline figures, 2025
Where Brazil sells, and what
Exports in 2025
Top export destinations (countries)
Leading export products
Balance and partners
Brazil's trade surplus reached a record in 2023 and has since narrowed as imports have grown faster than exports. The composition of partners also shifted: exports to Argentina rose by roughly a third in 2025, while trade with the United States moved from near-balance into a Brazilian deficit of about US$7.5bn — a change FGV's economics institute attributes to the US tariffs applied from August 2025.
Headline figures announced by the government each January (for 2024, a surplus of US$74.5–74.6bn; for 2025, US$68.3bn) differ slightly from the revised database values shown here.
| Year | Exports | Imports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 339.70 | 240.79 | +98.90 |
| 2024 | 337.05 | 262.87 | +74.18 |
| 2025 | 348.28 | 280.21 | +68.07 |
| Partner | Exports | Imports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 99.94 | 70.92 | +29.02 |
| European Union (bloc) | 49.77 | 50.29 | −0.52 |
| United States | 37.68 | 45.14 | −7.46 |
| Mercosur (bloc) | 25.65 | 18.33 | +7.32 |
| Argentina | 18.11 | 12.93 | +5.18 |
| Africa (region) | 15.47 | 8.22 | +7.25 |
| Germany | 6.52 | 14.40 | −7.88 |
| Russia | 1.52 | 9.41 | −7.89 |
Agreements
Brazil negotiates trade agreements as a member of Mercosur, which operates as a customs union with a common external tariff. Recent milestones documented in this archive:
- EU–Mercosur Agreement — negotiations concluded in Montevideo on 6 December 2024; signed in Asunción on 17 January 2026, with Mauro Vieira representing Brazil.
- Mercosur–Singapore Free Trade Agreement — in force from 1 August 2026, according to Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Brazil–Chile Free Trade Agreement — signed 2018, in force since 25 January 2022.
- Brazil–Mexico ACE 53 — an economic complementarity agreement in force since 2003.
The tariff dispute with the United States
On 30 July 2025 a US executive order imposed an additional 40 per cent tariff on many Brazilian goods, taking the total to 50 per cent from 6 August 2025, with around 700 exemptions. As minister, Vieira spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio by telephone on 9 October 2025; after President Lula's meeting with President Trump in Kuala Lumpur on 26 October he told reporters that Brazil hoped "to conclude bilateral negotiations that address each of the sectors" affected "in a few weeks"; and he met Secretary Rubio in November 2025, when Brazil presented proposals. In July 2026 the US announced further tariffs under Section 301; the Brazilian government rejected them and cited its Reciprocity Law and the WTO.
Sectors
What the numbers say about the economy behind the diplomacy
Energy
Crude petroleum has been Brazil's single largest export heading in both 2024 and 2025 (US$44.5bn in 2025). Energy also structures neighbourhood relations — Itaipu with Paraguay, the GASBOL pipeline with Bolivia — and is a theme of climate diplomacy.
Agriculture
Soybeans, coffee, beef, sugar, poultry and corn together accounted for well over US$100bn of exports in 2025. MDIC reported strong growth in beef (+42.5%) and coffee (+31.1%) export values that year.
Minerals & industry
Iron ore (US$29.0bn in 2025) and wood pulp are major commodity exports. Germany, the United States and China are leading sources of the industrial goods Brazil imports.
Sources & Further Reading21 references
- Comex Stat — official Brazilian foreign trade statistics (queried 11 September 2026)Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC) / Secex
- Balança comercial tem superávit de US$ 68,3 bilhões em 2025, diz governo (6 January 2026)CNN Brasil
- Trade balance surplus was USD 74.5 billion in 2024, second-best result in historical seriesSecom — Government of Brazil
- Balança comercial tem superávit de US$ 98,8 bilhões em 2023, recorde históricoExame
- O comércio exterior do Brasil em 2025FGV IBRE
- Em 2023, as exportações brasileiras para a China atingiram US$ 104 bilhõesBrazil-China Business Council
- Veja os 10 países que mais importaram produtos do Brasil em 2025Exame
- EU, Mercosur bloc sign free trade deal after 25 years of negotiations (17 January 2026)Al Jazeera
- European Union and Mercosur bloc sign landmark free trade agreement (January 2026)PBS NewsHour
- Official Visit by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil Mauro Vieira, 6 to 8 September 2026Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
- Decreto nº 10.949/2022 — Brazil–Chile Free Trade AgreementPresidency of the Republic (Planalto)
- Brasil–México ACE 53Siscomex — Government of Brazil
- Trump signs executive order imposing tariffs on Brazil (30 July 2025)CNN
- Trump meets Brazil's Lula at ASEAN summit (26 October 2025)Al Jazeera
- Mauro Vieira diz que reunião Lula-Trump foi "muito positiva" (26 October 2025)CNN Brasil
- Brazil awaits US reply on tariff plan after Vieira–Rubio talks (November 2025)The Tribune (India)
- Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Vieira (November 2025)U.S. Department of State
- Brazil condemns new US tariffs (16 July 2026)TIME
- Firma del Tratado de Itaipu — 26 de abril de 1973Itaipu Binacional
- Bolivia–Brazil Gas Pipeline (GASBOL)World Bank PPP Resource Center
- Brazilian FM Mauro Vieira arrives in New Delhi to attend 18th BRICS Summit (September 2026)The Tribune (India)