With exports of USD 34.1 billion and imports of USD 27.1 billion, Brazil recorded a trade surplus of just over USD 7 billion in July. The data were released on Thursday (Aug. 6) by the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services.

Trade flow (the sum of exports and imports) totaled USD 61.17 billion during the period, representing a 6.8 percent increase compared with July 2025. Both exports (up 6.2 percent) and imports (up 7.6 percent) rose compared with the same period last year.

Key exported and imported products

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According to the ministry, agricultural exports increased by 9.3 percent, driven mainly by soybean exports, which were up by approximately USD 870 million. In the extractive industry, crude oil exports rose by USD 960 million, while in the manufacturing sector, fuel oil exports also increased by USD 960 million. In the case of fuels, export growth exceeded 63 percent.

July’s imports were driven mainly by higher purchases of petroleum fuel oils (up USD 500 million), automatic data-processing machines and their units (up USD 320 million), medicines and pharmaceutical products, excluding veterinary products (up USD 320 million), thermionic, cold-cathode, or photocathode valves and tubes, diodes and transistors (up USD 290 million), and ethylene polymers in primary forms (up USD 150 million).

Trading partners

According to July’s trade balance results, China remains Brazil’s main trading partner, accounting for nearly one-third of Brazilian exports last month, with shipments totaling more than USD 10.7 billion - an 8.6 percent increase compared with July 2025.

The United States ranked second, accounting for 10.7 percent of Brazilian exports in July, down 5 percent from the same month in 2025. The decline does not yet reflect the effects of the US government’s new tariff hike, which took effect on July 22 and is expected to affect August sales, with data to be released in early September.

Brazil’s exports to Argentina also fell last month, declining by nearly USD 230 million, or 13.9 percent compared with July of last year. Although not directly related, this development comes at a time of renewed tensions between the governments of the two neighboring countries following successive attacks by Argentine President Javier Milei against Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The dispute led Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to downgrade diplomatic relations with Buenos Aires.

Year-to-date

From January through July, Brazil’s trade balance recorded a surplus of USD 49 billion, with both imports and exports increasing compared with the same period last year.

Year-to-date figures (January–July 2026):

Exports: USD 218.6 billion (+10.5%)
Imports: USD 169.5 billion (+5.5%)
Total trade: USD 388.1 billion (+8.2%)
Trade balance: USD 49 billion surplus

The United States has released a list of 471 Brazilian products that will be exempt from the new 12.5 percent surcharge imposed over alleged failures to combat forced labor. Among the items excluded from the measure are coffee, oil, natural gas, fertilizers, lumber, orange juice, and açaí products.

The list was published on Thursday (Jul. 23) by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and includes exemptions covering 20 major product categories.

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The new tariff took effect early Friday morning (24). For products not included on the list of exemptions, the additional surcharge will be added to the 25 percent tariff imposed by the US since Wednesday (22), raising the total tariff rate to 37.5 percent on some Brazilian exports.

What was left out

The list of exemptions includes products considered strategic to trade between Brazil and the United States, as well as inputs used by US industry.

Among the main exempt items are:

• coffee;
• petroleum and petroleum products;
• natural gas;
• fertilizers;
• wood and wood products;
• orange juice;
• açaí products;
• pesticides;
• leather and hides;
• pig iron;
• aluminum waste and scrap;
• semiconductor manufacturing equipment;
• certain medications and pharmaceutical ingredients;
• works of art, antiques, and collectibles.

Also excluded were various industrial inputs, minerals, metal waste, and products used in the technology and pharmaceutical industries.

How it works

The new surcharge was announced following an investigation by the US government under Section 301 of the US Trade Act.

According to the USTR, Brazil is among a group of countries that, in the US assessment, lack sufficient mechanisms to prevent the importation of products manufactured using forced labor.

Despite this, the US government decided to exempt hundreds of products from the tariff measure.

According to the agency, the exemptions take into account factors such as the importance of certain inputs to the US economy, existing trade commitments, and the specific characteristics of certain markets.