You don't need to be a geopolitics expert to feel the impact of the tensions between China and the United States. Just click on "buy" and observe the increase in delivery times or that suspicious jump in the final price. The trade war, reignited with heavy tariffs on both sides — some reaching 145% in the US on Chinese products — it's not just affecting the stock indices, but with the shopping cart of millions of Brazilians.
For the national e-commerce, this clash of titans comes like a strong wind. Those who are well-positioned can hoist the sails and gain speed. Who is not there, it will turn on its side in the storm.
The change in the global board started with the US targeting China's imports directly, attacking with very high rates and review of tax exemptions. China's response was immediate: restrictions on strategic minerals and new trade barriers. Result? An international shaky logistics system, freights rising, tense suppliers and uncertainty in stock replenishment. But what about Brazil in all of this?
Interestingly, this external crisis could be the key to an accelerated maturation of the national e-commerce. With the most expensive and less competitive Chinese products in the US, a window opens for Brazilian brands to occupy space — from electronics assembled here to fashion items, beauty and home. The consumer, that used to mainly look at the price, now also considers the deadline and the reliability of the delivery.
And then logistics come in. Brazil, always slow to respond to the demands of the digital economy, starts to awaken. Marketplaces invest heavily in regional distribution centers, logistics startups multiply with creative solutions, and there is a silent movement — but robust — ofnearshoringbring suppliers from Asia to Latin American countries, reducing time, cost and dependence.
Platforms like Mercado Livre, Magalu and Amazon Brazil are leading in this race, with own fleets, automated warehouses and algorithms that predict demand with millimeter-precision. Not by chance, Brazil closed 2024 with a growth of 12,1% in e-commerce, above the global average, segundo a Ebit/Nielsen.
Of course, there are obstacles, how the high internal logistical cost, the bureaucracy for imports, besides the fragility of infrastructure such as ports, airports, roads and railways. But there is also a new mindset, because the Brazilian retailer is learning that relying solely on Chinese supplies is a fragility and is taking action.
This trade war won't end anytime soon. The truth is that, while the US and China exchange tariffs as if they were sparks in a sword duel, Brazil can — act with vision and boldness — to become aplayerstronger, more autonomous and faster.
In the new game of the global e-commerce, he who fights more does not win. The one who delivers better wins
