Garments and shoes pay Brazil’s top 35% duty, Chinese footwear an extra US$10.22 a pair, and every item needs a Portuguese label. Here is the tariff, the taxes with a worked example, Inmetro’s labelling rules and why Paraguayan maquila apparel enters duty-free.
Clothing and footwear sit at the very top of Brazil’s tariff: 35% on most garments and shoes, the highest rate the Mercosur tariff allows outside a few exceptions. Chinese footwear also pays an anti-dumping duty of US$10.22 per pair. IPI is zero on most apparel and footwear, so the cost driver is the duty itself — and unlike the other taxes, the duty cannot be credited.
That makes origin decisive. A garment that qualifies as Paraguayan pays no duty in Brazil, which is the economic logic behind Paraguay’s apparel maquila. The other constant is the label: every textile product sold in Brazil needs a permanent Portuguese label with fibre composition, origin and care instructions under Inmetro’s rules, and footwear has its own labelling standard. The general tax mechanics are in our Brazil customs guide; this article covers what is specific to apparel and footwear.
| Group | Import duty (II) | Trade remedies and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel, knitted and woven (ch. 61–62) | Up to 35%, the ceiling of the tariff; most garments at the top | — |
| Footwear (ch. 64) | 35% on most lines | Anti-dumping of US$10.22 per pair on most Chinese footwear of headings 6402–6405 |
| Fabrics (ch. 52–55, 60) | Lower than garments; 26% on many lines since 2007 | Anti-dumping on some synthetic yarns and fibres |
| Yarns and fibres (ch. 50–55) | Lower again | Check anti-dumping by origin |
Brazil raised the duty on clothing and footwear to 35%, and on many fabrics to 26%, in 2007; finished garments and shoes are still at that ceiling today. Apparel and footwear are therefore one of the few groups where the headline duty still decides whether an import is viable.
Law and practice: CAMEX Resolution 40/2007 (rates later consolidated into the tariff); Mercosur common external tariff.
Brazil has applied an anti-dumping duty on footwear from China since 2010. It was last extended by Gecex Resolution 303 of 23 February 2022 for up to five years, and the trade-defence department lists it as valid until 25 February 2027. The duty is US$10.22 per pair for Chinese producers without an individual rate (a few named producers are listed at zero), on footwear commonly classified in headings 6402 to 6405, on top of the 35% duty.
Exclusions
Rubber beach sandals of 6402.20.00, ski and snowboard boots, sports shoes with spikes or similar fittings, house slippers, dance shoes, disposable and antistatic footwear, and some fully textile footwear.
Who pays
The Brazilian importer, at clearance, per pair.
Circumvention
Shoes assembled or transhipped through a third country can be caught by an anti-circumvention extension; Brazil has used this tool before.
Expiry
The measure expires on 25 February 2027 unless a sunset review (revisão de final de período) is opened before then at the request of the Brazilian industry; while a review runs, the duty stays in force. Reviews were opened at the two previous expiries, so plan 2027 orders on the assumption that the duty may continue.
Anti-dumping also applies to some textile inputs, mainly synthetic fibres and yarns from Asian origins. Duties are by product and origin and change on review, so check the current list for your NCM and supplier country.
Law and practice: Gecex Resolution 303/2022 (footwear from China, valid to 25 February 2027); Gecex Resolution 352/2022 (reconsideration requests rejected); Decree 8.058/2013 (anti-dumping procedure and sunset reviews).
Most apparel and footwear lines carry no IPI in the TIPI table. PIS and COFINS apply at import at 2.1% and 9.65% on the customs value; textiles and footwear are among the sectors affected by the additional COFINS-Importação linked to the payroll-tax relief, which is being phased down (0.6% in 2026 on listed goods) — check whether your NCM is listed. ICMS is grossed up and, in several states, footwear and some apparel are sold under tax substitution (ICMS-ST), with the importer collecting the retail-chain tax in advance.
| CIF US$100,000 of garments, II 35%, ICMS 18% (illustrative) | Non-Mercosur origin | Paraguayan origin (II 0%) |
|---|---|---|
| Import duty 35% | 35,000 | 0 |
| IPI | 0 | 0 |
| PIS 2.1% | 2,100 | 2,100 |
| COFINS 9.65% | 9,650 | 9,650 |
| ICMS 18%, grossed up | 32,213 | 24,530 |
| Total taxes at clearance | 78,963 (79% of CIF) | 36,280 (36% of CIF) |
| Of which pure cost, if all credits are used | 35,000 | about 0 |
For a reseller in the non-cumulative regime, PIS, COFINS and ICMS are credits, so the 35% duty is the real cost — and it falls to zero for Paraguayan goods. A retailer in the Simples Nacional regime, typical of small fashion businesses, recovers almost nothing, so its landed cost is close to the full column.
Law and practice: Law 10.865/2004 (PIS/COFINS-Importação); Law 14.973/2024 (phase-down of the additional COFINS). Illustrative calculation; fees and AFRMM on sea freight enter the ICMS base.
Textile products, including clothing, bed linen and many accessories, must carry a label under Inmetro Portaria 118/2021, the technical regulation on textile labelling. The information must be permanent, visible and in Portuguese, on a label, tag, stamp or print, and must include:
Who is responsible
Name, company name or registered trademark of the manufacturer, importer or brand owner, with its Brazilian tax identification.
Country of origin
“Feito no” or “Fabricado no” followed by the country, or “Indústria” followed by the nationality.
Fibre composition
The names of the fibres or filaments and their percentages by mass, using the names in the regulation.
Care instructions
Washing, drying, ironing and cleaning, using the standard symbols.
Size or dimensions
Where applicable.
Labels must be in place when the goods are offered for sale, and Inmetro and the state agencies inspect retail. Imported garments are often relabelled in a bonded or Brazilian warehouse, which is legal but adds cost and time; it is cheaper to sew the Brazilian label in at the factory.
Law and practice: Inmetro Portaria 118/2021 (textile labelling regulation) and Inmetro guidance on textile products.
Footwear sold in Brazil must show, in Portuguese, the main materials of the upper, lining and sole, the country of origin and the identification of the manufacturer or importer, under the footwear labelling rules of Conmetro and Inmetro. Children’s footwear and safety footwear have additional rules; safety footwear for work also needs the labour ministry’s approval certificate (CA).
Size is expressed in the Brazilian numbering. The label goes on the shoe itself, usually inside the tongue or upper, not only on the box.
Garments that qualify as Paraguayan under Mercosur rules enter Brazil at 0% duty instead of 35%, and Paraguayan footwear is outside the anti-dumping duty on Chinese shoes. Paraguay may use up to 60% non-Mercosur materials and still certify origin until 2038, so a Paraguayan plant can cut and sew imported fabric and ship duty-free to Brazil — provided it meets the product-specific origin rule for the garment, which for textiles typically requires a real transformation such as cutting and sewing, not just finishing or packing.
This is a large, real flow. Clothing and textiles were 18% of exports under Paraguay’s maquila regime in the first half of 2025, the second sector after auto parts, and Brazil took about 65% of all maquila exports. Brazilian brands use Paraguayan plants for cut-and-sew work under contract, often with the Brazilian company importing the finished goods. Origin is checked: a certificate for goods that were merely relabelled can be cancelled, the duty and the anti-dumping recovered, and the importer fined.
Law and practice: Decrees 12.058 and 12.059/2024 (Mercosur origin regime); Paraguayan maquila export data, January–June 2025. Our guide to selling into Brazil from Paraguay covers the maquila route.
Much imported fashion reaches Brazil in parcels sold through platforms. Since May 2026, purchases of up to US$50 through the Remessa Conforme programme pay no federal import tax, only ICMS; above US$50 the federal rate is 60% minus a US$30 deduction. The Inmetro labelling rules still apply to products offered to Brazilian consumers, and retailers have challenged the parcel exemption in court. Details are in our Brazil customs guide.
Weak origin
A Paraguayan certificate for goods that did not meet the origin rule; the 35% duty and anti-dumping come back with fines.
Missing labels
Goods without permanent Portuguese labels are seized from retail shelves.
Wrong fibre names
Trade names instead of the regulated fibre names, or percentages that fail a test.
Footwear classification
The heading decides whether the anti-dumping applies; upper and sole materials must be described correctly.
Under-valuation
Low declared prices for fashion goods are a classic grey-channel trigger.
Exact NCM: 35% duty, anti-dumping exposure, ICMS-ST.
Mercosur certificate for Paraguayan goods; product-specific rule met.
Inmetro textile label or footwear label, permanent and in Portuguese.
Your company with RADAR, a Brazilian buyer or a trading company.
Duty, grossed-up ICMS and the buyer’s tax regime.
Footwear anti-dumping expires on 25 February 2027 unless a sunset review is opened.
Gecex Resolution 303/2022 (footwear anti-dumping) · MDIC: footwear anti-dumping measure in force · Inmetro: textile labelling rules · Inmetro: textile labelling guide (2021) · CAMEX Resolution 40/2007 · Abit: labelling rules · La Nación: maquila exports, first half 2025 · MIC Paraguay: maquila report
Up to 35% on the customs value for most garments of chapters 61 and 62, plus PIS, COFINS and ICMS; IPI is zero on most apparel.
Yes. US$10.22 per pair on most Chinese footwear of headings 6402 to 6405, extended by Gecex Resolution 303/2022 until 25 February 2027; a sunset review opened before that date would keep it in force while it runs.
Under Inmetro Portaria 118/2021: the responsible company and its tax ID, country of origin, fibre composition by percentage, care instructions and size, permanently and in Portuguese.
No, if they qualify as Mercosur origin under the product-specific rule and carry a certificate. Internal taxes still apply.
Yes, before they are offered for sale, but labelling at the factory is cheaper and avoids warehouse handling.
Most apparel and footwear lines carry no IPI; check the TIPI for the exact NCM.
Purchases up to US$50 through the Remessa Conforme programme pay no federal import tax since May 2026, only ICMS.
The full tax stack, RADAR, DUIMP and Paraguayan origin.
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador compared.
Tell us the product, its origin and who will import it. We check tariff, anti-dumping and labelling and set up the importer — fixed quote within one business day.
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