巴西8月贸易顺差超预期且对美出口同比增长，但难形成明确个股交易

Brazil posted a bigger-than-expected trade surplus in August, helped by a jump in exports to the US despite a full month of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs.

Latin America’s largest economy exported $33.2 billion overall, up 12.2% from a year earlier, according to Trade Ministry data released Friday. Imports totaled $25.8 billion, leaving Brazil with a trade surplus of $7.4 billion, bigger than the $7.1 billion median forecast from analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Shipments to the US in particular rose 12.1% from a year earlier, an unexpected showing after the new levies fueled concerns that Brazilian exporters would lose ground in their nation’s second-largest trading partner.

While there are exceptions on specific goods, the tariffs cover a range of Brazilian products and were imposed following US allegations of unfair trade practices. Their economic impact has become intertwined with politics as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seeks reelection in October and his government tries to negotiate relief from Washington.

Brazilian officials have been holding talks with their US counterparts in an effort to reverse the levies, with Lula himself calling Trump as Brasília seeks to prevent the dispute from escalating further. Still, the leftist leader said at an event on Friday that, if the US stops purchasing Brazilian goods, then he “will not spend his time crying over it.”

Read More: Lula Calls Trump to Resume Talks Over US Tariffs on Brazil

One month of resilient trade is not enough to gauge the tariffs’ long-term impact. Exporters could have absorbed part of the additional cost, relied on contracts signed before the levies took effect or benefited from strong demand for particular goods, leaving doubts over whether August’s result can be sustained.

“Brazil has seen significant volatility in exports to the US, with American trade measures creating uncertainty,” Herlon Brandão, director of the Foreign Trade Statistics and Studies Department at Brazil’s Trade Ministry, said on Friday. “The increase in shipments last month was driven largely by higher prices for goods sold to the US, rather than stronger volumes.”

Another challenge is emerging across the Atlantic. Shipments to the European Union rose 46.4% in August, but Brazil now faces new export restrictions on animal products after failing to meet the bloc’s requirements governing the use of certain veterinary drugs in livestock.

The measures could prove particularly painful for Brazil, the world’s largest exporter of beef and chicken. European buyers typically pay higher average prices for Brazilian beef than many other markets.

Restoring unrestricted access could take years because EU authorities require information covering an animal’s full life cycle.