From a negative position before the devaluation of 1999, the Brazilian trade balance went to relative equilibrium and, after 2002, to consistent surpluses, mostly related to the huge growth in exports, in a context of exchange rate appreciation. Evaluating exports and imports´ volumes between January 1999 and December 2005, this work seeks to understand Brazilian foreign trade considering three general hypothesis: (i) other variables could have been as or more important than exchange rates; (ii) traded quantum reacts with some delay to changes at the explanatory variables; (iii) aggregated and disaggregated quantum have different behaviors both in long and short run. Regarding exports, long run demand elasticities suggest that export prices and foreign income affect volumes, the latter being also relevant in the short run. Supply elasticities, only for the long run, suggest that exchange rates, trade openness and export prices are relevant for the representative firm s decision. For the period considered, there was evidence that demand is more important than supply, with foreign income and export prices effects overriding exchange rate appreciation. Regarding imports, long run elasticities of demand indicate a greater importance of domestic income and exchange rates compared to other variables. Nonetheless, in the short run, the latter seem to be the most important variable.