Brazilian footwear jobs under threat as US trade talks collapse
With the August deadline for trade deals with the US looming, there have been winners and losers.
There have been important agreements with the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the UK and other important trading partners, but others have been unable to secure a deal with the US.
No deals are in place so far with China, India, Canada or Brazil, among others.
On July 30, US president, Donald Trump, signed an executive order implementing 50% tariffs on imports from Brazil, to take effect on August 6.
The main footwear industry body in the South American country, Abicalçados, described this as a serious set-back that would cause “irreversible damage” to exports of Brazilian footwear.
Executive president of Abicalçados, Haroldo Ferreira, said: “This is a serious situation. It will have a direct impact on the Brazilian footwear industry, for which the US is our main overseas market. But it will also have an impact on thousands of jobs.”
He explained that some footwear manufacturers base their business on export markets, with the US as their main target. He insisted that a 50% tariff will make shipments of shoes to the US economically unviable. “In the first instance, we are talking about the loss of an estimated 8,000 jobs,” he said.
The US is also an important export destination for Brazilian leather. In the first half of 2025, tanners and traders in Brazil shipped hides, skins and leather with a value of $78 million to the US, making the US the sector’s second-most valuable export market, behind only China.
Image: Abicalçados.
