The 50% tariff announced Wednesday July 9 by US President Donald Trump on imports from Brazil could have a major impact on the global pulp market, pulp analyst Mateus Saraiva said.

“The US is a key destination for Brazilian pulp, and any shift in trade policy could influence global supply chains,” Saraiva said. “Other exporters with lower tariff exposure may gain competitive advantage, while downstream industries such as tissue and packaging could face cost pressures. Currency movements and freight rates may further shape the net impact on landed costs.”

Brazil is the main supplier of bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp (BEKP) to the US. It accounts for 82.5% of US BEKP imports. Brazil shipped more than 2.8 million tonnes of BEKP to the US in 2024.

Fastmarkets assessed the price of Bleached Hardwood Kraft (spot), delivered US East, at $605 per tonne at the end of June. The price was assessed at a 2025 high of $645 per tonne at the end of April.

Trump announced around 5pm US Eastern time Wednesday that he will impose a 50% tariff on all products imported from Brazil starting August 1. The decision was communicated via social media platform Truth Social.

In an official statement from the White House addressed to the Brazilian government, Trump described the current trade relationship between the two countries as “very unfair.”

Beyond the pulp market

In addition to pulp, Brazil is also a strategic supplier of steel to the US. Brazil exported 3.4 million tonnes of steel slab to the US in 2024, representing about 60% of total US imports of that product, according to data from Instituto Aço Brasil.

The National Confederation of Industry of Brazil (CNI), an association that brings together representatives from all sectors of Brazilian industry, issued a statement warning that the tariff announced by Trump could have serious consequences for Brazilian manufacturers.

“There is no economic justification whatsoever for a measure of this magnitude,” CNI president Ricardo Alban said.

Trump justified the imposition of tariffs on Brazil by claiming it was necessary to address unsustainable “trade deficits” against the US. However, official foreign trade data shows that commercial relations between the two countries are balanced.

In 2024, the trade balance between the two nations was slightly favorable to the US, with a surplus of $283.8 million, according to data from Comex Stat, the official Brazilian government platform for foreign trade statistics. In the composition of bilateral trade, Brazilian exports accounted for 49.8% of total transactions between the two countries, while the US stood at 50.2%.

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a message published on social media that “any unilateral increase in tariffs will be met with reciprocal measures under Brazil’s Economic Reciprocity Law.”