Brazilian steel exports rose by 14pc in 2025, driven by the doubling of shipments to European countries in the wake of US tariffs.
Steel shipments to Europe surged to 1.38mn metric tonnes (t), up from 686,968t in 2024, while global exports increased to 10.97mn t from 9.57mn t in 2024, steel industry chamber Aco Brasil said.
Brazilian producers shifted a larger share of steel exports to Europe after the US imposed a 50pc tariff on all imported steel from 4 June. Despite the higher duties, the US remained Brazil's primary steel buyer, accounting for nearly 60pc of export volumes. Brazil shipped 6.42mn t of steel to the US in 2025, up by 10pc from the previous year, as pricing adjustments helped split the tariff burden between sellers and buyers.
Brazilian domestic steel prices fell in 2025 as low-priced imports from Asian suppliers intensified competition. The price erosion encouraged producers to seek geographical arbitrage, selling into Europe at higher price levels.
Crude steel production fell by 1.6pc to 33.34mn t in 2025, Aco Brasil said. Semi-finished steel output dropped by 4.9pc to 8.17mn t, while rolled products declined by 1.7pc to 23.28mn t compared with a year earlier.
Imports across all steel products hit a 15-year high at 6.4mn t, driven by low-priced Chinese material and solid domestic demand, Aco Brazil said.
Exporters lowered prices to Brazil because of oversupply in China and tighter safeguard measures in other markets.
| Steel production and sales in Brazil | '000t | |||
| Product | 2025 | 2024 | Difference | ± (%) |
| Production | ||||
| Crude steel | 33,347 | 33,880 | -533 | -1.6 |
| Rolled flats | 13,507 | 13,582 | -75 | -0.6 |
| Rolled longs | 9,774 | 10,110 | -336 | -3.4 |
| Semifinished - Slabs | 8,176 | 8,548 | -372 | -4.5 |
| Semifinished - Ingots, blooms and billets | 617 | 700 | -83 | -13.5 |
| Pig Iron (Integrated steelworks) | 26,247 | 26,508 | -261 | -1.0 |
| Domestic sales | ||||
| Rolled flats | 1,875 | 1,874 | 1 | 0.1 |
| Rolled longs | 1,084 | 1,128 | -44 | -3.9 |
| Semifinished - Flats and longs (exports) | 18 | 30 | -12 | -40.0 |
| Exports | ||||
| Semifinished - Slabs | 8,682 | 7,255 | 1,427 | 19.7 |
| Semifinished - Ingots, blooms and billets | 188 | 136 | 52 | 38.2 |
| Total | 10,979 | 9,571 | 1,408 | 14.7 |
| Imports | ||||
| Rolled flats | 3,981 | 3,060 | 921 | 30.1 |
| Coated steel | 1,645 | 1,582 | 63 | 4.0 |
| Rolled longs | 1,061 | 1,108 | -47 | -4.2 |
| Total | 6,399 | 5,957 | 442 | 7.4 |
| Source: Instituto Aço Brasil |
