Twenty-eight days after being announced by U.S. president Donald Trump, the 50% tariff on Brazilian exports to the United States officially took effect at midnight on Wednesday (Aug. 6). The White House included 694 products on an exemption list, but all other goods entering the U.S. from Brazil will now carry the additional tax.
The tariff makes Brazilian products significantly more expensive for U.S. buyers, threatening export volumes and employment across multiple regions of Brazil. Some impacts are already being felt as companies reduce production and dismiss workers.
Natural stone sector faces immediate slowdown
Brazil supplies about 23% of the natural stones used for kitchen and bathroom countertops in the U.S. market, such as marble and granite. Espírito Santo state, in southeastern Brazil, handles 82% of these exports through its ports, sustaining a network of over 900 companies, including quarries, marble processors, and exporters.
Tales Machado, president of the Brazilian Natural Stone Association (Centrorochas), said the impact was immediate:
“Around 100 small companies are practically paralyzed,” he told BdF. “These are small businesses with 10 or 15 employees that depend entirely on exports. Their situation is very complicated.”
Layoffs began soon after Trump announced the tariff on July 9, and intensified when he formalized the measure and released the exemption list on July 30. Quartzite was exempted, but marble, granite, and slate remain subject to the 50% duty.
“The mining of these stones has been affected across Brazil. All investments are on hold,” Machado added.
Amarildo Lugão, president of the Espírito Santo Marble and Granite Workers’ Union (Sindimármore), said he is already receiving layoff reports: “companies that carried out mass dismissals will be taken to court by the union to defend workers’ rights,” he said.
The tariff also hits Brazilian coffee, beef, poultry, fruits, clothing, and footwear. According to the federal government, 36% of Brazil’s exports to the U.S. are now subject to the new tax.
In Franca, São Paulo state, a historic center of shoe production, the local footwear industry association (Sindifranca) estimated that the tariff could cut exports by US$15 million in 2025, threatening 1,200 to 1,500 jobs.
In the São Francisco Valley, in northeastern Brazil, the fruit export sector faces an even larger challenge. Valexport, the regional producers’ association, says the export chain sustains 1.2 million jobs, including 250,000 direct and 950,000 indirect positions.
Executive director Tassio Lustoza explained that the timing of the tariff is critical: “the peak of mango exports should be in September. That’s when the tariff will hit hardest,” he told BdF.
Even exempted industries feel the shock
Some sectors were included in Trump’s 694-product exception list, such as steel, iron, aircraft, and wood. Yet even these industries suffered production cuts due to the market shock and fear of future reversals.
Reinaldim Barboza, president of the Paraná Federation of Construction and Furniture Industry Workers (Fetraconpar), which represents 82,000 workers, said the wood-processing sector alone employs 42,000 people, mostly exporting to the U.S.
“As soon as the tariff was announced, about 10,000 workers had their activities suspended. Some were laid off, others were sent on vacation,” he said.
Even after wood products were exempted, companies kept production down: “Trump changes his mind all the time. It creates instability for the economy and the world”, Barboza said. “Workers pay the price.”
In Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais, a local metalworking company shut down its iron-processing furnace and sent 130 to 140 workers on vacation or paid leave, fearing immediate losses. “We’ll see if the company resumes normal activity on September 1st”, said Ernane Geraldo Dias, head of the local metalworkers’ union, who expressed concern for 5,000 workers in the region.
Political backdrop: tariffs as retaliation
Finance minister Fernando Haddad described the effects of the tariff as “dramatic”, highlighting that the Brazilian government is negotiating with the U.S. to fully reverse the measure.
Trump publicly framed the tariff as political retaliation against Brazil for the legal proceedings against former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election.
In a statement justifying the measure, the Trump administration accused Brazil of political persecution and serious human rights violations against Bolsonaro and his supporters.
Emergency measures under discussion
The Brazilian government is studying domestic relief measures to contain the damage, including emergency credit lines for exporters, tax reductions for affected sectors, and government purchases of products originally destined for the U.S. market.
Vice president Geraldo Alckmin, also minister of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade, said the measures will be announced as the tariff takes effect.
For now, the economic uncertainty is already reshaping entire export chains. From natural stone quarries to fruit farms and shoe factories, Brazil’s export-dependent industries are bracing for job losses and stalled investments, with ripple effects across local economies.
