Embraer is pushing for US and Brazilian officials to reach an agreement to eliminate a 10% US import tariff that applies to Embraer’s regional and executive jets.
The effort continues after US president Donald Trump last week exempted aerospace products from a broader 40% tariff on Brazilian imports set to take effect on 6 August – sparing Embraer what would have been a major setback.
But a separate 10% tariff against Brazil, which Trump implemented in April, remains in effect.
Embraer, which counts the USA as its top market, is seeking to sidestep that tax, stressing its expanding US presence and its intention, pending a US government order, to establish a US production line for KC-390 military transports.
“We have been very active with high-level authorities in Brazil and in the US, to demonstrate the relevance of our company in terms of job creation, investments [and] services to passengers… to support the development of a negotiated solution,” Embraer chief executive Francisco Gomes Neto said on 5 August during the company’s second-quarter earnings call.
“We continue to believe in and advocate firmly for… returning to the zero tariff rule for the global space industry,” he adds.
Gomes Neto has reason for optimism, as President Trump has given aerospace products preferential treatment in recent trade deals. Agreements between the USA and both the European Union and UK exempted aircraft and aerospace components from US import taxes.
“We also continue to encourage a constructive dialogue between the Brazilian and the US governments to reach an amicable resolution in the short term,” Gomes Neto says. ”Our company plays a key role in the US regional aviation market, as our aircraft transport approximately 100 million passengers every year.”
US airlines operate 786 E-Jets and hold unfilled orders for another 207, according to fleet data provider Cirium. The largest players – like SkyWest Airlines and Republic Airways – depend almost exclusively on the Brazilian jets.
Embraer operates several US maintenance sites and a business aircraft production and delivery site in Melbourne, Florida. It aims to create another 5,500 US jobs by 2030 and to invest $500 million on US projects that include expansion in Florida and a new Dallas maintenance site, it says.
Embraer also seeks to sell KC-390s to the US government which, if successful, would prompt it to open a KC-390 manufacturing line in the USA, creating another 2,500 jobs.
“We are excited to say we are in advanced conversations with a… US partner for this project,” Gomes Neto says. ”We believe that our business plan for the US is also very attractive for both sides.”
The USA’s 10% tariff does not apply to the entire value of imported Embraer’s jets, as US-made components, which account for about 40% of Embraer’s jets, are not subject to the duty, according to Gomes Neto.
Embraer expects US tariffs will shave 90 basis points off its 2025 earnings before interest and taxes, with most of that impact hitting in the second half of the year.