Apex expands its efforts in the US to support companies affected by the tariff hike

Brazil Agency - Em exclusive interview with TV Brasil, the president of the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), Jorge Viana, highlighted the federal government's commitment to supporting affected Brazilian companies and convincing US authorities to revoke the tariff hike or, at least, mitigate it.

Viana highlighted the R$30 billion from the Sovereign Brazil Plan allocated to affected national companies and the opening of a new Apex office in Washington, the capital of the United States.

"It's R$30 billion that creates an environment of insurance, loans, and tax burden reduction, exclusively for companies that were affected by the tariff. We are also making our presence felt, expanding our office from Miami to Washington, as we already have offices in New York and San Francisco," he said this Friday (15).

The president of Apex said that the Brazilian government has already established partnerships with the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil (Amcham) and with sectors that import Brazilian products, "which can lobby the White House to exclude more products from this tariff increase."

Sovereignty

According to Viana, if the US tariffs against Brazil had been caused by a trade issue, it would already be resolved. The president of Apex also stated that the US demands to revoke the sanctions against Brazil violate the country's sovereignty.

"There's no room for political action in this case, when the conditions being imposed by the US president violate Brazil's sovereignty. [The US president] is trying to interfere in a branch of government, in this case, the Brazilian judiciary, and that's inconceivable. If it were just a commercial issue, it would have already been resolved," he said.

Viana described the United States' trade situation with Brazil as "extraordinary, fantastic, for them" and "good for us," and emphasized that, because of this, one of Brazil's strategies against the tariff hike will be for the country to approach American businesspeople who import national products.

"We don't want to give up on this trade. And to avoid giving up, we also have to bring on board the importers who make a lot of money from the Brazilian products that arrive there. This applies to coffee. It applies to products like meat, which is becoming more expensive in the United States because their herds have declined significantly."

New markets

The president of Apex stated that another strategy will be to find new countries to buy Brazilian products, and that the agency has already mapped new markets.

"There are markets for us to enter, from coffee to footwear. We've already studied more than 108 markets; there are sectors that could have new markets in 72 countries," he said.

According to Viana, the new markets mapped are “quite significant” for absorbing the products that are no longer being imported by the United States, due to the tariff hike.

"We believe that the affected sectors, by participating in fairs and events and bringing buyers to Brazil, will find buyers for a portion of these $18 billion [in Brazilian exports to the US], which is the portion that is being affected by the tariff hike."

Job opportunities

The Apex president said that Brazil is well prepared to face the crisis with the United States and that it must find new opportunities amid the impasse. According to Viana, in a trade war, everyone involved loses, but "sometimes the one who provoked the war loses the most."

"Brazil is in a great position to face this crisis. In a trade war, which I believe is what the United States is doing, everyone loses. But sometimes, those who provoked the war lose more. [Brazil has] the BRICS, Brazil has a great relationship with India, China, and Russia. We have friendships with all countries, including the United States."

“Everyone loses, but those who best seize opportunities can emerge better from this crisis,” he added.

Exports

Data from ApexBrasil shows that, from January to March of this year, Brazil exported US$77,3 billion in goods, a lower figure than the US$77,7 billion in the same period in 2024. The trade balance closed positively at US$10 billion.

The main products exported were crude oil, soybeans, iron ore and green coffee, with emphasis on exports of industrialized goods, which increased during the period, including items such as machinery and electrical appliances.

Regarding the main destination countries for Brazilian exports, the highlights in the first quarter were China (US$ 19,8 billion), the European Union (US$ 11,1 billion), the United States (US$ 9,7 billion) and Mercosur (US$ 5,8 billion), with Argentina standing out, with an increase of 51%.