Manaus, Brazil, Aug. 12, 2026 (Lusa) - Jorge Neves, a Portuguese businessman based in Brazil and founder of an Amazonian chocolate company, told Lusa that the new tariffs imposed on Brazil by US President Donald Trump had made exports to the US «unviable».
«With the new tariffs, it has become unviable,» Jorge Neves, founder of Warabu Chocolates, told Lusa on the sidelines of an event organised by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) in the Amazonian city of Manaus.
The aim now, he emphasised, is to seek to boost sales in the Brazilian market and explore other markets for his company, which was founded in 2018 in Manaus and works with wild Amazonian cocoa, harvested by traditional peoples and communities who keep the «lungs of the world» alive.
The Portuguese CEO, who came to Brazil due to the economic crisis in Portugal in 2009, also explained that around 4% of his production was destined for the United States.
Sales to the US have been declining since May 2025, when the US administration imposed an additional 50% tariff on most Brazilian products, which has since been lifted following a court ruling.
Washington announced, however, in July, an additional 25% tariff as a sanction for alleged unfair trade practices, and a further 12.5% tariff because Brazil allegedly fails to combat forced labour.
According to studies presented by Brazilian business leaders and reported in the local press, the new sanctions affect between $7.4 and 11 billion (between €6.4 and 9.5 billion) worth of Brazilian exports, representing between 18% and 29% of Brazil's total sales to the US.
Although the government of Brazilian President Lula da Silva is attempting to negotiate the suspension of the tariffs, bilateral relations are facing a diplomatic crisis, which culminated on 4 August with the revocation of the visa of Brazil's ambassador to the US, Maria Luiza Viotti.
To address this situation, on Tuesday Brazil launched a plan to assist thousands of companies affected by the tariffs through trade promotion initiatives in 36 alternative markets to the United States.
According to figures from the Brazilian government, around 5,600 Brazilian companies have been directly affected by the new US trade barriers, with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) standing ready to support up to 5,300 of them, spread across 35 strategic sectors.
Priorities include agribusiness, food and drink, footwear and leather, machinery and equipment, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, electrical and electronic materials, textiles and clothing, furniture, fish, and stones, gemstones and jewellery.
The new Export Diversification Plan, with a total investment of 210 million reais (around €34 million), was outlined on Tuesday by the president of ApexBrasil, Laudemir Müller, «We want to diversify markets. We have 36 priority markets in which we will operate. And how do we do this? By creating opportunities so that these companies can secure new business and find new avenues,» emphasised Müller, adding that the search for alternative markets does not mean they will stop working with the United States.
«We are not going to replace the US market; we will continue to work in the United States – it is an important market. But our focus now is on diversification, offering support and assistance to affected companies to minimise risks», he stressed.
The strategy envisages more than 300 market diversification initiatives in partnership with sectoral organisations, as well as direct and personalised support for companies affected by tariffs.
*** Lusa travelled to Manaus at the invitation of ApexBrasil ***
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