RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO — Brazilian meatpackers are weighing whether to make new shipments of beef products to the United States after President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazil last week, Roberto Perosa, president of Brazilian beef lobby ABIEC, said.
The United States is Brazil's second most important beef products market after China, according to trade data.
"New shipments are under analysis by the private sector due to the increase in tariffs," Perosa said on Tuesday.
The announcement of the tariffs affected Brazil's cattle market last week and on Monday, with companies sharply reducing purchases of animals because of the uncertainty related to the tariff announcement, said Alcides Torres, a beef market consultant with Scot Consultoria.
"The market turned cold," Torres said.
Brazil, the world's largest beef exporter, accounts for some 23% of U.S. beef imports, according to calculations by Genial Investimentos.
Since Trump's announcement, meatpackers have been scrambling to reschedule and redirect shipments and production, Perosa said last week, noting that some companies had already decided to temporarily halt production destined for the United States.
Beefpacker Minerva, one of the hardest hit in Brazil, derives around 5% of its net revenue from beef sales to the U.S., the company said after the announcement of the new U.S. tariff, effective Aug. 1.
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Minerva declined to comment.
A persistent shortage of cattle in the U.S. increased the country's demand for Brazilian beef imports, trade data shows. According to analysts, the new tariff could make beef more expensive for U.S. consumers.
