Crude oil exports from Brazil to the United States are set to resume after the White House granted tariff exemptions for several commodities and products, Reuters has reported, citing Brazilian lobby group IBP.
Oil is Brazil’s biggest export commodity to the United States. Earlier this month, President Trump threatened the country with tariffs of 50%, specifically targeting crude oil, accusing the current Brazilian government of persecuting former president Jair Bolsonaro.
“If he charges us 50%, we’ll charge him 50%,” Brazil’s president Lula da Silva responded at the time.
Since then, however, the tone has changed on both sides as both apparently realized that what would effectively be a suspension of oil trade would hurt both sides. The U.S. is Brazil’s third-largest oil buyer, importing around 189,000 barrels per day in Q1 2025, or 11% of Brazil’s total oil exports, according to data from ship-tracking firm Vortexa and Kpler. China and Europe remain the top destinations, importing 654,000 bpd and 446,000 bpd respectively.
Per 2024 data, Brazil’s total oil exports averaged 1.78 million barrels daily, with 243,000 barrels daily of that going into the United States.
According to Argus estimates from earlier this month, tariffs on Brazilian crude could push the price of some grades from $70 per barrel to over $100 per barrel, which would make them prohibitively expensive for U.S. buyers. This, in turn, would lead to higher volumes going to the other key markets of Brazilian oil marketers—Europe and China.
On Wednesday, President Trump confirmed the tariff of 50% on all Brazilian imports but with a few significant exemptions, including energy products, orange juice, pulp, and aircraft. “We are out of the tariff,” the head of IBP, the lobby group, said. He added that, had an exemption not been secured, Brazilian oil producers would have redirected flows to Europe and India.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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