Brazil in July 2026: the most important developments in economy
Brazil's economy in July 2026 was dominated by a new trade dispute with the United States. On July 16 Washington announced a 25% tariff on most Brazilian imports, citing unfair trade practices, to take effect on July 22. US officials accused President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of bad faith, and Brazil's business sector criticized the levy. Brazil offered concessions but failed to avoid the tariff. The government said 16.5% of its exports to the United States are affected by a cumulative 37.5% tariff, and one analysis found that US tariffs could hit 36.5% of Brazil's farm exports. Brasília ruled out eye-for-eye retaliation and filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization on July 27 and 28. The dispute also entered the presidential race: Flávio Bolsonaro blamed Lula for the tariff hike, while Motta backed Lula's stance and defended the Reciprocity Law.
The mining group Vale went through a governance shake-up. Its board chairman resigned on July 7, and the Brazilian regulator investigated the resignation. Wilfred Bruijn was elected temporary chairman on July 14, and a new chairman was elected on July 22. On July 27 another board member resigned after accusations of a leak. On July 30 Vale reported a 35% drop in second-quarter profit, with net income of $2.1 billion against $3.2 billion a year earlier, while revenue rose 4% to $10.4 billion. It reaffirmed its full-year production guidance.
Aircraft maker Embraer saw its shares surge on July 27 after reporting a record order backlog. It also launched the Phenom 300EV with an autoland system and formed an aerospace partnership with Mubadala in the United Arab Emirates.
In energy, Petrobras cut its aviation fuel price by 14.5% for July and announced record refining output and reduced imports amid the Iran war. The Lula government kept a diesel subsidy of $0.22 per liter. ByteDance chose Brazil for its largest data center outside China.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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