Brazil’s machinery exports grow despite tariff hike
The Brazilian machinery and equipment industry grew in September, with net sales revenue rising 11.2 percent from the same period last year to $5 billion, according to data released Wednesday (Oct. 29) by the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment Industries (Abimaq).
Regarding exports, there was a 1.8 percent increase compared to the same month last year, while cumulative figures show the sector remained at the same level as in 2024.
The main destinations for Brazilian machinery and equipment exports shifted this year, with sales to North America falling 8.9 percent, while those to Europe and South America rose 4.8 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively.
In South America, Argentina stood out with a 44.3 percent increase in imports of Brazilian machinery, driven by the agricultural and construction sectors.
In the United States, imports fell 10 percent in September compared to the previous month. Over the year, the cumulative decline reached 8.2 percent, reflecting the impact of higher import tariffs imposed by the US government on Brazilian products.
“The impact of the tariff hike is still very recent,” said Leonardo Gatto, Abimaq’s coordinator of economics and statistics, during a press conference on the results. He added that companies in the sector are expected to maintain their investments.
“Companies will wait to see what happens in the coming months, but we don’t expect a significant impact by the end of the year,” said Gatto.
Abimaq had initially estimated an overall 15 percent drop in its exports this year, assuming that exports to the US would effectively fall to zero following the tariff hike. “But that didn’t materialize,” Gatto pointed out. The association now projects a 4.2 percent decline in total exports for the year, with exports to the US expected to fall by 24.4 percent.
The association emphasized that if Donald Trump’s tariff hike “persists much longer, the impact will be even more severe.”
On Tuesday (28), the Republican-led US Senate passed legislation that cancels the import tariffs imposed on Brazil.
The Senate vote now moves to the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives, where it is expected to be shelved. House Republicans have repeatedly voted to block any legislative action aimed at ending Trump’s import tariffs.
Abimaq data also showed that imports increased in September both month-on-month (8.1%) and year-on-year (8.4%), reaching a total of $2.78 billion. Year-to-date, imports grew 9 percent, totaling $23.97 billion.
The entity reported that the order book, which had declined by 1.9 percent in August, stabilized at 8.9 weeks. “However, order books worsened in the machinery industry for logistics and civil construction, as well as for components for capital goods,” said Abimaq.
