|
US Imports: Brazil Falls 22%, Venezuela Soars
Imports from Argentina jump 33%, while Chile declines 0.6%.
BY JOACHIM BAMRUD
US imports from Brazil fell 22% during the first half of the year, while imports from Venezuela nearly tripled, according to a Latinvex analysis of US Census Bureau data.
All in all, US imports grew 10.4% to $385 billion.
Also Chile suffered a decline in exports to the United States during the first half, while Colombia’s exports remained almost unchanged.
In turn, Mexico and Argentina did see double-digit increases, the analysis shows.
TOTAL US TRADE
Total US trade with Latin America and the Caribbean reached $697.8 billion during the January-June period, a 12% increase from the same period a year ago.
| US-Latin America Trade | ||||||
| US trade with Latin America in the first half, millions of US dollars. | ||||||
| Percent change over 1H 2025. | ||||||
| Country | Exports | Ch | Imports | Ch | Total | Ch |
| Mexico | $ 195,577 | 16.60% | $ 298,157 | 13.00% | $ 493,734 | 14.40% |
| Brazil | $26,556 | 0.02% | $17,083 | -22.30% | $43,639 | -10% |
| Chile | $10,626 | 9% | $10,561 | -0.59% | $21,187 | 4% |
| Colombia | $10,784 | 11.30% | $9,272 | 0.85% | $20,056 | 6.20% |
| Argentina | $5,090 | 5.70% | $4,562 | 33.30% | $9,652 | 17.20% |
| Venezuela | $2,963 | 55.50% | $6,566 | 159% | $9,529 | 114.40% |
| Total LAC | $312,570 | 14.10% | $385,254 | 10.40% | $697,824 | 12% |
| Source: Latinvex using data from US Census Bureau | ||||||
US exports grew 14.1% to $312.6 billion. As a result, the US posted a trade deficit with Latin America of $72.6 billion. That represented a 3% decline from the first half of 2025.
MEXICO AND BRAZIL
US trade with Mexico, its largest trade partner worldwide, grew 14.4% to $493.7 billion. US imports from Mexico increased 13% to $298.1 billion, while exports to Mexico expanded 16.6% to $195.6 billion.
As a result, the US trade deficit with Mexico stood at $102.6 billion, 6.6% more than the same period last year.
US trade with Brazil, its second-largest partner in Latin America, fell 10% to $43.6 billion due to 22% decline in US imports, which reached $17 billion. Meanwhile, US exports to Brazil remained largely the same – $26 billion.
Despite the United States maintaining a trade surplus with Brazil, the South American country has been singled out for reprisals by the Trump Administration. In addition to a 12.5% tariff over “forced labor”, the US government added a 25% tariff on July 16 over “unfair trade practices.”
The American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil, known as Amcham Brasil, expects the new tariffs will hurt more than $11 billion in industrial and agricultural exports, Valor Economico reports.
VENEZUELA AND ARGENTINA
Venezuela saw a dramatic increase in its exports to the United States, going from $2.5 billion in the first half of 2025 to $6.6 billion in the January-June period this year. That represents a 159% jump.
Much of the surge is due to a 151% jump in Venezuelan oil exports to the US, which reached $5.6 billion.
US relations with Venezuela improved after the US ousted president Nicolas Maduro in January. President Donald Trump has repeatedly praised Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who had served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018 and has held various positions with the Chavez-Maduro regime since 2003.
| LatAm Oil Exports | |||
| Imports of crude oil, customs basis first half of 2026. | |||
| Millions of US dollars. Change from 1H 2025 | |||
| Country | Imports | Ch | |
| Mexico | $3,583,861 | -25.90% | |
| Argentina | $1,296,860 | 54.80% | |
| Brazil | $1,755,380 | -32.20% | |
| Colombia | $2,680,539 | 8.90% | |
| Ecuador | $1,627,976 | 10.90% | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | $556,319 | 11.90% | |
| Venezuela | $5,552,126 | 151.10% | |
| LAC | $20,644,547 | 19% | |
| Source: Latinvex using data from US Census Bureau | |||
US exports to Venezuela also jumped – by 55% — to almost $3 billion. As a result, total trade grew 114.45 to $9.5 billion.
Meanwhile, Argentina saw exports to the United States jump 33.3% to $4.6 billion, in part due to a 54.8% jump in oil exports to the US.
CHILE AND COLOMBIA
Both Chile and Colombia saw lackluster results in terms of exports to the United States.
Chile’s exports fell 0.59% to $10.6 billion, while Colombia’s exports inched up 0.85% to $9.3 billion.
NEW TARIFF IMPACT
US imports from Latin America will likely be impacted by the new “forced labor” tariff the United States imposed effective July 24, 2026.
The tariff affects the top 60 US trade partners, including 18 nations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Latin American and Caribbean countries that now face a 10% tariff on their exports to the United States include Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago.
Latin American and Caribbean countries that now face a 12.5% tariff on their exports to the United States include Bahamas, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
© Copyright Latinvex
RELATED ARTICLE
