Why are Argentina and the United States buying less Brazilian footwear?

The decline in Brazilian footwear purchases by Argentina and the United States in 2026 is explained by macroeconomic, trade and contextual factors specific to each market, in addition to a complex global environment for consumer goods.

ARGENTINA

- Collapse of mass consumption and accumulated inflation: The loss of household purchasing power and persistent local inflation kept consumption of non-essential goods, such as apparel and footwear, at historically low levels.

- General decline in retail sales: After accumulated drops in consumption from previous years, Argentine retail chains and importers operated with high levels of overstock and low turnover, which drastically slowed new import orders.

- Exchange-rate scenario and commercial uncertainty: Despite processes of trade opening and flexibility, the shortage of liquidity and restrictions associated with access to foreign currency continued to condition the volume of large-scale purchases abroad during the first half of the year.

- Tariff barriers and trade restrictions: The imposition of additional tariffs and tariff surcharges on Brazilian footwear -with surtaxes reaching up to 37.5% in certain categories- significantly reduced the price competitiveness of Brazilian-origin products compared with other international competitors.

- Adjustment in unit prices -decline in revenue-: In order to try to sustain sales volume and enter the North American market despite the tariff impact, brands and manufacturers had to renegotiate margins and lower the average export price per pair. This explains why revenue fell by 23.8%, compared with a decline of only 4.3% in physical volume.

- Inflation and slowdown in consumption of discretionary goods: With persistent inflation above official targets and high interest rates, U.S. consumers reduced discretionary spending, preferring lower-cost alternatives or cutting back on periodic footwear replacement.

- Strong Asian competition and the growth of digital platforms: In both Latin America and North America, there was accelerated growth in direct imports of Asian footwear, mainly from China and Vietnam, further driven by the penetration of cross-border shipments through international electronic platforms at low-cost prices.

- Logistics and supplie costs: Volatility in global supply chains and maritime transport costs increased the final operating costs for Brazil’s exporting industry.

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