Business in Brazil? Know the Customs and Culture. (2024)

FAQs

What are the business customs in Brazil? ›

It is more appropriate to offer a lunch or dinner instead of a gift. However, if a gift is offered it is best to give it in a social setting. Dress code varies depending on the company, but are often formal and conservative. Men are expected to wear suits and ties while women are expected to be elegant.

Brazilians focus on nonverbal cues and body language to determine someone's true intentions. In conversation, they often use physical contact with each other to emphasize meaning. Personal space is smaller in Brazilian culture than in others; Brazilians stand close to one another while speaking.

The main difference between the business culture of the US and the business culture of Brazil is that the US business environment typically emphasizes directness, individual achievement, and efficiency, whereas Brazilian business culture places a greater value on personal relationships, flexibility, and a more relaxed ...

Family is very important for the Brazilian. It is common in Brazil to hire people from the same family to be their colleagues. Balance between working and family life is also very important for Brazilian. Brazilian are also more flexible with time, and do not give so much importance to punctuality.

Customs is a government agency or authority that regulates the flow of goods into and out of a country. Most importantly, the customs deals with the collection of duties levied on imported goods.

Import duty (II) is a federally-mandated product-specific tax levied on a CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) basis. In most cases, Brazilian import duty rates range from 10 percent to 35 percent. Brazil's Ministry of Economy publishes a complete list of NCM products and their tariff rates on its website.

Brazilians tend not to eat food with their hands. This means using a fork and knife, even for foods such as fruit. In the case of street food, it is acceptable to hold the food with a napkin while eating, but never with bare hands. To signal a server in a restaurant, you can raise one index finger.

It is most well known for its dense forests, including the Amazon, the world's largest jungle, in the north. But there are also dry grasslands (called pampas), rugged hills, pine forests, sprawling wetlands, immense plateaus, and a long coastal plain.

Traditional Brazilian Clothing

For example, those living in the southern plains, a ranching area, wear gaucho-type clothing: baggy pants, or bombachas; cowboy hats and cowboy boots. The indigenous Amerindians in the Amazon region wear tunics and face paint and also love beads, body paint and unique hairstyles.

Brazilian business organizations typically follow a top-down hierarchical model, with the higher-ups holding most of the decision-making power. Titles and seniority are respected, and it's customary to address individuals using their titles and last names unless they suggest otherwise.

What is doing business in Brazil like? ›

Challenges of doing business in Brazil

Navigating the Brazilian bureaucracy can be a daunting challenge, as the country has multiple, complicated layers of government departments and agencies. A lack of understanding of these processes can lead to costly delays in your operations and quickly increase your overheads.

Brazil has the fifth-largest population globally and a rapidly growing middle class, which means it has an enormous consumer market. This large and diverse consumer market offers numerous exciting commercial opportunities for foreign companies from various sectors looking to reach new clientele in the country.

In Brazilian culture, living in a community is vital due to the fact Brazilians are very involved with one another. "Brazilians organize their lives around and about others, maintain a high level of social involvement, and consider personal relations of primary importance in all human interactions.

The cultures of the indigenous Indians, Africans, and Portuguese have together formed the modern Brazilian way of life. The Portuguese culture is by far the dominant of these influences; from it Brazilians acquired their language, their main religion, and most of their customs.

Important Brazilian industries for U.S. exporters include oil and gas, agricultural equipment, aerospace and manufacturing.

Managers in Brazil tend to keep the line between employee and boss clear, but still maintain the friendly atmosphere. Brazilian working culture also can be considered to be low satisfaction at work and low competition amongst people of the organization.