With just four days to go before the 50% tariff hike on Brazilian products announced by the U.S. takes effect, Lula’s government (PT) is negotiating the exclusion of certain items from Donald Trump’s tariff package.
According to officials involved in the matter, Vice President and Minister Geraldo Alckmin (Development, Industry and Trade) has been in talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in an attempt to spare, for instance, food products from the list.
Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter of orange juice, with 42% of its output going to the U.S. It is also the top coffee supplier to the American market. From January to May 2025, the U.S. purchased 2.87 million bags of coffee, accounting for 17.1% of Brazil’s total exports.
In addition to pushing for a delay in the announcement, the Brazilian government is reportedly also requesting that aircraft produced by Embraer be excluded from the tariff list.
After the article was published, the Ministry of Development contacted Folha and stated that there are no sector-specific negotiations, and that the focus is on a full reversal of the tariffs. However, sources involved in the talks and Alckmin’s team confirmed the request to exempt specific products.
