Brazil's trade deficit with the United States: an unequal relationship: Despite being one of the largest economies in Latin America, Brazil maintains an unbalanced trade balance with the United States. According to data released by O Globo, in 2024 Brazil imported about $ 44 billion in American products, while Brazilian exports to the US added only $ 42 billion. That is, the country closed the year with a commercial deficit of approximately $ 2 billion. This result puts Brazil among the few business partners that maintain an unfavorable relationship with the United States. In practical terms, it means that Brazil buys more than it can sell to the US market, something that aggravates external dependence and reduces the competitiveness of national industry. In addition, the deficit occurs even in sectors where Brazil has export tradition, such as agribusiness and mining. Factors such as technical barriers, sanitary requirements and, especially, Trump's tariff wars...
Brazil surprises and leads global growth: GDP rises more than the US, G7 and European Union in the 1st quarter
Brazil is emerging as one of the economies with the best performance at the beginning of 2025. According to data released this Friday (30) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Brazil's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 1.4% in the first quarter of the year, compared to the last three months of 2024.
The result was driven mainly by the strength of agribusiness and puts the country ahead of all nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the European Union and even the G7 — a group that brings together the seven largest global economies.
According to the OECD, the average growth of member countries was just 0.1% in the same period, well below the 0.5% recorded in the fourth quarter of last year. The G7's performance was also disappointing: growth fell from 0.4% to 0.1% between the two quarters. The eurozone and the European Union each grew by 0.3% in the first three months of the year.
In total, 17 OECD countries reported a slowdown in economic activity between January and March, and four of them even recorded a decline in GDP.
Brazil is growing more than the US, less than China
While Brazil grew by 1.4%, the US economy suffered a slight contraction of 0.1% in the first quarter. The OECD attributes this decline to a strong increase in US imports, which rose by 10.8% in the period — a significant jump compared to the 1.3% drop in the previous quarter.
The increase in imports was driven by the anticipation of purchases by US companies, in response to the new package of trade tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. The strategy seeks to avoid the impacts of the so-called “tariff hike” by reinforcing inventories before the new tariffs come into effect.
This movement was also reflected in the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which measures the pace of economic growth in the private sector. The US composite PMI, released by S&P Global, rose from 50.6 in April to 52.1 in May — a sign of a slight recovery, since numbers above 50 indicate growth. Chris Williamson, chief economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, explained that part of this improvement may be linked to companies' attempts to protect themselves against future tariff changes, especially with the end of the 90-day pause scheduled for July. China maintains strong growth pace China also had an impressive performance at the beginning of the year, with a 5.4% expansion in GDP between January and March. The result was influenced, in part, by the same phenomenon that affected the US: global companies increased their purchases from the Chinese market to anticipate possible tariffs. The increase in exports boosted the growth of the second largest economy in the world, which continues to be one of Brazil's main trading partners. With the global scenario still uncertain and trade tensions gaining strength, Brazil's performance in the first quarter stands out not only for its above-average growth, but also for its resilience in the face of a challenging international environment.
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