60%. That is how much sales to the United States have fallen, in some cases, for Brazilian companies hit by the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, according to reporting by g1 published on Wednesday (Oct. 1). In practice, it is as if only R$ 4 remained of every R$ 10 these firms once earned in the world's largest market. When revenue shrinks at that pace, workers feel it first: fewer overtime hours, frozen hiring and, at the limit, layoffs.
"The American market represented 40% of our revenue in 2025 and this year it represents zero," João Baroni, chief executive of manufacturer Engemasa, told g1. It is as if a household lost, from one year to the next, the salary that paid the rent and the monthly groceries. According to Baroni, clients complain about the lack of predictability, and a market built over decades "is falling apart in a matter of months".
Background. The so-called tarifaço (tariff blitz) is the package of surcharges the Trump administration has slapped on goods imported into the United States. For Utilinox, which sells industrial machines and equipment, the blow began early this year with the 50% levy on steel and aluminum under Section 232, a US law that allows imports to be taxed on national security grounds. Company director José Neto told g1 that some products saw sales to American buyers drop 60%.
Sector-wide figures confirm the squeeze. According to data from Abimaq, the association of Brazil's machinery and equipment industry, reported by Poder360, the sector's net sales revenue reached R$ 23 billion in August, down 15.5% from the same month last year. From January to August, the accumulated decline is 13.2%, with R$ 177.6 billion billed.
The race for new markets
The way out, executives say, is to replace the American customer with new destinations. According to Laudemir Müller, president of ApexBrasil, the government export promotion agency, 72% of the 2,400 agency-assisted companies that sell to the US already operate in at least one additional market. Foreign Trade Secretariat data cited by g1 show where that money is going: sales to China grew 15% from January to August, totaling US$ 77 billion (about R$ 393 billion), the same growth rate recorded for the European Union.
But diversification does not erase an older problem. According to the CNI, Brazil's national industry confederation, manufacturing shrank from 35.9% of GDP in 1985 to 13.7% in 2025, and Brazil fell from 29th to 78th in the economic complexity ranking between 1995 and 2024. "More than seeking a market for diversification, we need to make our industry competitive," Marcelo Vitali, director of consultancy How2Go, told g1.
On the diplomatic front, expectations are low. Brazilian officials met on Wednesday with Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative (the equivalent of a commerce minister), but the meeting only marked the resumption of talks, with no decisions. For small and midsize companies, which have less cash to wait out the storm, the tariff bill has already come due.