EU-BRAZIL Investment Dialogue

Portugal and Poland emerge as strategic routes for trade between Brazil and the European Union

An article published in Diário do Comércio, authored by the columnist, argues that Brazil should diversify its entry points into the European market, positioning Portugal and Poland as complementary platforms to the traditional main ports. According to the text published in September 2026, to achieve a significant volume of trade with the bloc, there would be a distinction between simply selling to Europe and being effectively integrated into its production chains, which would require a deeper insertion strategy.

The article points out that the country’s trade relationship with the bloc remains concentrated, given that the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Belgium accounted for most Brazilian exports to the EU in 2023, often acting as intermediaries for re-exports to other markets. In this scenario, Portugal is presented as a entry point for defense, driven by sales of Embraer aircraft to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states, such as the KC-390 Millennium and the A-29N Super Tucano, at a time when European military budgets are expanding, with projections pointing from € 2025 to a forecast of € 454 billion in 2026. Poland, on the other hand, stands out as a logistical and industrial corridor focused on Central and Eastern Europe, with growing pulp trade, as the country imported about US$ 490 million in 2024, of which US$ 185 million came from Brazil, in addition to being a major exporter of paper and derivatives.

For the author, the strategic relevance of this proposal lies in enabling Brazilian industry to move beyond a few entry ports and advance toward value addition—shifting from exporting mere raw materials to participating in more complex stages of European production, such as industrial processing, certification, and distribution. The text maintains that this reconfiguration would not aim to replace established commercial channels, but rather to build a second layer of trade between Brazil and the European Union that is less dependent on traditional hubs, more capillary, expanding the Brazilian economic presence beyond traditional export numbers.

Read more at: https://dcomercio.com.br/publicacao/s/brasil-e-o-comercio-com-a-ue-portugal-e-polonia-como-hubs