Stone-Ideas.com 
Update: : Brazilian quartzites are exempt from the tariffs, but not stones such as granite, marble, and slate, Centrorochas informs.
Update: Certain types of natural stone from Brazil are exempt from Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on imports from that country, namely those with the number HTS 6802.99.00.
Donald Trump‘s current special tariffs on deliveries from Brazil are a live demonstration of the economic impacts of the US President‘s policy of pursuing political goals through tariffs rather thand diplomacy: Even before the regulations have come into force, there have already been major disruptions to Brazil‘s natural stone exports and, conversely, major concerns in the US construction industry.
On July 09, 2025, Trump announced that special tariffs of 50% would come into force on deliveries from Brazil on August 01, 2025. This would also affect coffee, cellulose, pig iron, iron ore and other products on a large scale.
At the moment, Brazilian exporters have not yet received any cancellations from US buyers. However, there have been many requests to postpone deliveries. The newspaper “Folha Vitória” quotes Tales Machado, President of the natural stone association Centrorochas, as saying this.
In other words, shipments due to arrive in US ports after August 01 have been postponed until further notice.
The association has provided data on the situation in a press release: “By the end of the month (July), approximately 1,200 containers may remain unshipped, representing a potential loss of up to USD 40 million in Brazilian exports for July alone.”
We remember the Covid-19 pandemic: Even after the vaccine was available, it still took several months for ships and containers schedules to come back to normal.
Conversely, those involved in the US in the construction market are also very concerned about a possible long-term lack of deliveries from South America. In the United States, only 15% of the natural stone consumed comes from domestic sources, and quarries do not have the potential to ramp up production in the short term.
There is a risk that customers will switch to materials such as ceramic or artificial stone.
The US Natural Stone Institute (NSI), together with other industry association such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), is initially trying to achieve a 90-day postponement of the tariffs for Brazil, according to Centrorochas in its press release.
Trump‘s measures mean a particular threat to Brazil‘s stone industry because supplier countries with lower tariffs could take Brazil‘s place as supplier to the US – they buy the beautiful quartzites and granites from the South American country as raw blocks, process them at home, and bring them to the US market.
Espírito Santo particularly affected
Within Brazil, Trump’s measures particularly affect the state of Espírito Santo, which accounts for 82.3% of natural stone deliveries to the US. In terms of value, this most recently amounted to USD 672.4 million.
“The measure threatens the performance of more than 200 Brazilian export companies and jeopardizes a production chain that generates around 480,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country,” says Tales Machado from Centrorochas in the the newspaper report.
Brazil exported USD 1.26 billion worth of stoneware worldwide in 2024. More than half of this (56.3%) went to the United States.
Folha Vitória (Portuguese)
Photos: companies
