Authors: Anna Mano and Marcella Ayres
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil ran a trade surplus of $2.9 billion with Iran last year, government data showed, making the South American country a potential candidate for new U.S. tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that any country doing business with Iran would face 25% tariffs on any trade with the United States, as Washington grapples with political turmoil in Iran, which is experiencing its largest anti-government protests in years.
In mid-2025, Brazil faces additional U.S. tariffs on goods including beef, coffee and orange juice. Washington later reversed course and partially lifted additional tariffs to avoid domestic inflationary pressures. However, some goods still face tariffs, including shoes, fish and lumber.
Brazil’s exports to Iran mainly include corn and soybeans. By 2025, these two products will account for 67.9% and 19.3% of Brazil’s total exports to Iran respectively.
Trade data shows Iran was the main destination for Brazilian corn last year, importing 9.1 million tons. The same data showed that Egypt and China (Brazil’s main trading partner) imported a combined 9.5 million tons of corn.
Data show that Brazil imported nearly $85 million worth of products from Iran, mainly fertilizers such as urea, as well as fruits and nuts.
(Reporting by Ana Mano in Sao Paulo and Marcela Ayres in Brasilia; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
