Brazil Goes From Big Loser to Winner on US Tariffs: Supply Lines

Feb. 26, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC

Brazil turned the other cheek when Donald Trump slapped 50% tariffs on its goods last year, refusing to retaliate even as it faced some of the most painful levies in the US president’s arsenal.

It’s a strategy that paid off last week, when the Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, turning Brazil and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva into perhaps the world’s biggest winners, for now.

Even with Trump’s replacement levies in place, Brazil’s average tariff rate plunged by as much as 21 percentage points — to 10% from about 31%, according to estimates from Bloomberg Economics. ...

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