Brazilian brands selling in Europe: what to settle first
EU-Brazil trade, the DU-E export filing, cosmetics under CPNP, food via TRACES, supplement notification, and European versus Brazilian Portuguese.
A Brazilian brand selling in Europe settles two sides before its first sale. On the Brazilian side, the export is declared in the DU-E through the Portal Único Siscomex. On the EU side, product rules decide what must be in place before goods reach the market: CPNP notification and an EU-established Responsible Person for cosmetics, listed establishments and TRACES for food of animal origin, and national notification rules for food supplements.
These steps apply whether the brand sells to consumers or supplies distributors.
How much trade flows between the EU and Brazil?
Two-way EU-Brazil trade in goods reached EUR 87.1 billion in 2025, with a Brazilian surplus of EUR 1.6 billion, according to the European Commission. Brazil is the EU’s 10th-largest trading partner in goods. The EU is Brazil’s second-largest partner after China, with 15.3% of Brazil’s overall trade.
The structure is uneven. Agricultural products make up 42% of Brazil’s exports to the EU, and fuels and mining products, mainly oil, 27%, or EUR 11.9 billion. In the other direction, machinery and transport equipment account for 40.9% of EU exports to Brazil, and chemical products for 28.7%. Services trade grew 71% between 2021 and 2025.
Since 1 May 2026, the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement has applied provisionally, and the EU removes duties on 92% of its imports from Mercosur, line by line. Brazil is not a beneficiary of the EU’s GSP, so a line outside the cuts pays the standard duty. The detail is in the EU-Mercosur agreement: what changes for importers.
What does a Brazilian exporter file before goods leave?
The Declaração Única de Exportação (DU-E), filed through the Portal Único Siscomex. According to Receita Federal, the DU-E is a single electronic document covering the customs, administrative, commercial, financial, fiscal and logistics data of the export. It replaced three earlier declarations: the RE, the DE and the DSE.
The DU-E is typically generated from the electronic invoice, the NF-e. It can also be based on a formula invoice, or filed without an invoice in cases defined by law. The product descriptions and values then travel to the EU importer on the commercial documents.
What does a Brazilian cosmetics brand need before selling in the EU?
Two things. Under Regulation (EC) 1223/2009, a cosmetic product is notified in the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP) before or upon being placed on the EU market. Once notified centrally, no further national notification is needed within the EU. Products containing nanomaterials need a separate Article 16 notification on top of the standard Article 13 notification.
The notification is made by the Responsible Person, a natural or legal person established in the EU. A brand from Brazil appoints one before its products are placed on the EU market. This is a cosmetics role under Regulation 1223/2009, distinct from the GPSR Responsible Person for general consumer products. Stock and batch handling for cosmetics are covered in holding cosmetics stock for the EU market.
Can Brazilian food of animal origin be exported to the EU?
Yes, from approved establishments. For products of animal origin, the Brazilian establishment is first approved by Brazil’s competent authority. It then has to appear on the European Commission’s published list of authorised non-EU establishments before it can export to the EU. The lists are built from data the exporting country’s authority enters in TRACES-NT.
TRACES is the EU’s online platform for the sanitary and phytosanitary certification needed to import animals, animal products, food and feed of non-animal origin, and plants. Checks on arrival are covered in importing food into the EU: border controls.
Do food supplements need notification in the EU?
It depends on the member state. Article 10 of Directive 2002/46/EC says member states may require the manufacturer, or the person placing the product on the market, to notify the competent authority and forward a model of the label. The Directive sets no EU-wide pre-market authorisation.
In practice, the rules differ by country. Portugal, for example, requires the operator to notify DGAV before a supplement is sold there. A brand selling in several countries checks each national rule, as set out in selling food supplements in the EU.
Does Brazilian Portuguese work on packs sold in Portugal?
It is a market-fit question more than a legal one. Portugal and Brazil share Portuguese, but European and Brazilian Portuguese differ in vocabulary, in spelling conventions and in some regulatory terminology.
No EU regulation reviewed for this article sets a rule against Brazilian Portuguese on a pack sold in Portugal. The point is how labels, instructions and product pages read to Portuguese shoppers and trade buyers. A brand launching in Portugal can have those texts reviewed by a European Portuguese reader before launch.
A worked example
Suppose a Brazilian haircare brand sells a shampoo and a hair supplement to consumers in Portugal and Spain from EU stock. The details are hypothetical, for the mechanics only.
Before the first EU sale, the brand appoints a cosmetics Responsible Person established in the EU, who notifies the shampoo in the CPNP. For the supplement, it checks the notification rules in Portugal and in Spain. Each export is declared in a DU-E generated from the NF-e, and the goods are released for free circulation on arrival in Portugal. The Portuguese labels and product pages are read by a European Portuguese reader.
Sales to Spanish consumers are then declared through OSS. If a Spanish retailer later buys wholesale, that B2B sale is zero rated under Article 138 of the VAT Directive, as covered in zero-rated B2B sales from stock in Portugal.
What does a Brazilian brand check before its first EU sale?
- The DU-E process in Siscomex, and export documents consistent with the NF-e.
- For cosmetics, an EU-established Responsible Person and CPNP notification, with Article 16 notification for nanomaterials.
- For food of animal origin, the establishment’s place on the Commission’s list.
- For supplements, the notification rule in each country of sale.
- The EU duty on each product line, including any Mercosur preference.
- Portugal-facing texts reviewed in European Portuguese.
For a given item, the brand’s advisers and the authority responsible for that product type confirm the rules. Use the checklist above as a starting point; it does not replace legal advice.
How this runs at EFC
EFC’s base in Portugal, run with its logistics partner, receives goods from Brazil, releases them for free circulation on arrival and holds the stock for orders across Europe, as described on release for free circulation. EFC handles fiscal representation and OSS for consumer sales. EFC is not a cosmetics Responsible Person under Regulation 1223/2009, and the brand appoints its own. For in-scope consumer products, EFC’s GPSR Responsible Person role is described on responsible person, and cosmetics stock on cosmetics. EFC gives no legal advice.
Sources
| Label | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| EU-Brazil trade | EUR 87.1 billion in goods in 2025; surplus EUR 1.6 billion; 10th-largest EU partner; EU 15.3% of Brazil’s trade | European Commission, EU trade relations with Brazil, opened 2026-07-29 |
| Trade structure | Brazil to EU: agriculture 42%, fuels and mining 27% (EUR 11.9 billion); EU to Brazil: machinery and transport 40.9%, chemicals 28.7%; services up 71% 2021 to 2025 | European Commission, EU trade relations with Brazil, opened 2026-07-29 |
| Mercosur | iTA provisionally applied from 1 May 2026; EU duties removed on 92% of imports from Mercosur | Access2Markets, application of the EU-Mercosur interim trade agreement, opened 2026-07-29 |
| GSP | Brazil is not among the current beneficiaries of the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences | GSP Hub, beneficiary countries, opened 2026-07-29 |
| DU-E | single electronic export declaration via Portal Único Siscomex; replaced RE, DE and DSE; typically generated from the NF-e | Receita Federal, a Declaração Única de Exportação, opened 2026-07-29 |
| CPNP | notification before or upon placing on the market; made by the Responsible Person; separate Article 16 notification for nanomaterials | European Commission, Cosmetic product notification portal, opened 2026-07-29 |
| Responsible Person | non-EU cosmetics brands appoint a Responsible Person established in the EU | Care Europe, EU Responsible Person under Regulation 1223/2009, opened 2026-07-29 |
| Authorised establishments | approval by the exporting country’s authority, then listing by the Commission | European Commission, non-EU countries authorised establishments, opened 2026-07-29 |
| TRACES | platform for sanitary and phytosanitary certification; lists built from TRACES-NT data | European Commission, TRACES and TRACES modules, opened 2026-07-29 |
| Supplements, EU rule | member states may require notification with a label model | Directive 2002/46/EC, Article 10, EU text on EUR-Lex, opened 2026-07-29 |
| Supplements, Portugal | notification to DGAV before sale | DGAV, procedimento de notificação de suplementos alimentares, opened 2026-07-29 |