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— is affecting not only stock market indices but also the shopping carts 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. Those who are not, will turn on their side in the storm.
The change in the global board started with the US targeting China's imports directly, attacking with high tariffs and revising tax exemptions. China's response was immediate: restrictions on strategic minerals and new trade barriers. Result? An unstable international logistics system, rising freight costs, 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, beauty, and home items. The consumer, who previously mainly looked at the price, now also considers the delivery time and reliability.
And that's where logistics come in. Brazil, always slow to respond to the demands of the digital economy, is beginning to wake up. Marketplaces invest heavily in regional distribution centers, logistics startups are multiplying with creative solutions, and there is a quiet — yet robust — movement ofnearshoringbring suppliers from Asia to Latin American countries, reducing time, cost, and dependency.
Platforms like Mercado Livre, Magalu, and Amazon Brazil are leading this race, with their own fleets, automated warehouses, and algorithms that predict demand with millimeter-precision. No wonder, Brazil closed 2024 with a 12.1% growth in e-commerce, above the global average, according to Ebit/Nielsen.
Sure, there are obstacles such as the high internal logistical costs, bureaucracy for imports, and the fragility of infrastructure like ports, airports, roads, and railways. But there is also a new mindset, as the Brazilian retailer is learning that relying solely on Chinese supplies is a vulnerability 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 saber duel, Brazil can — if it acts with vision and boldness — become aplayerstronger, more autonomous, and faster.
In the new global e-commerce game, it's not the one who fights the most who wins. The one who delivers better wins.
