Tariff Benefits! Brazil Removes Tariffs on Nearly 1000 Goods

On March 26, 2026, the Brazilian government, through the Executive Management Committee of the Foreign Trade Chamber (Gecex/Camex), made a resolution.Implement import tariff exemptions on nearly 1,000 categories of imported goods, primarily reducing the import tariffs on these categories to zero.This move stems from the fact that these products either lack domestic production capacity or the scale of domestic output is insufficient to adequately meet market consumer demand.

Brazil Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services Official Announcement

I. Overview of the Implementation of Zero Tariffs

A total of 970 products have been included in the zero-tariff category. According to the notification from Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services (MDIC), the existing tariff preferential policies for 779 products have been extended through this regular resolution; 191 products have been newly added or temporarily adjusted, with their tariffs temporarily reduced to zero, effective for a period of four months.

This adjustment is an optimization measure in response to Brazil’s tariff increase on over 1,200 electronic products implemented in early February this year. In February this year, Brazil had already removed import tariffs on 105 of these items.

II. Main Product Categories Involved

Agricultural inputs: including agricultural fungicides and insecticides for pest control.

Pharmaceuticals and medical products: Cancel import tariffs on drugs for diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and hospital nutritional products.

Capital goods and IT, telecommunications products: including industrial production machinery and equipment, electronic components, and information technology-related products, covering laptops, motherboards, smartphones, routers, mice, memory, etc. This adjustment may enhance the market competitiveness of capital goods and electronic components in export countries such as China.

Industrial inputs: including raw materials for the textile industry, hops used in beer brewing, and electric motors for food mixers and blenders.

Other categories: including some industrial production chemicals, polyester fiber, etc.

III. Background of Policy Adjustment and Subsequent Arrangements

In early February this year, Brazil raised import tariffs on over 1,200 electronic products, capital goods, and IT products, with the largest increase reaching 7.2 percentage points. The affected categories include mobile phones, household appliances, medical equipment, and others. The policy’s stated objectives are to protect domestic industries and increase government revenue, but it has triggered objections from businesses and raised concerns across supply chains.

Due to negative reactions from the Congress, public opinion, and the production sector, the Brazilian government partially rolled back the measures on February 27, 2026, restoring zero tariffs on 105 capital goods products, mainly industrial machinery and equipment. The March 26 decision represents an expansion of the previous adjustment, and relevant companies can apply for automatic tariff reductions by the end of March.

Additionally, the Executive Management Committee of Brazil's Foreign Trade Council simultaneously ruled to impose definitive anti-dumping duties for a period of five years on ethanolamines (a common chemical ingredient used in cosmetics) originating from China and polyethylene resins (multi-purpose industrial plastics) originating from the United States and Canada.