Washington: US President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose a 50 per cent tariff on goods imported from Brazil, intensifying trade tensions with the South American nation and escalating his criticism of its current government.
Trump accused Brazil of launching attacks on US tech companies and conducting a politically motivated ‘witch hunt’ against former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently on trial over his alleged role in efforts to overturn Brazil’s 2022 presidential election.
Trump’s proposed tariff marks a dramatic increase from the 10 percent rate announced earlier this year. Trump also called for a formal Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s digital trade policies, an established legal route the US has used in the past to justify punitive trade measures.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva responded swiftly, warning that any tariff increases would be met with reciprocal action. In a post on social media, Lula also denied what he called foreign interference in Brazil’s judicial system, stating that, “No one is above the law.”
The growing war of words follows Trump’s recent comparisons between Bolsonaro’s legal troubles and his own. Trump remarked that, “This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a political opponent, something I know much about.” Bolsonaro, who is accused of inciting a January 2023 riot after losing the election, thanked Trump for his support.
Tensions between the two countries have grown since Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled last month that social media platforms could be held accountable for content promoting election misinformation. US tech firms including Trump Media and Elon Musk’s X have pushed back against rulings by Brazilian courts suspending accounts tied to such content.
Trump also aimed for the recent Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, calling the group ‘anti-American’ and vowing to slap an additional 10 percet tariff on all member nations’ exports. Brics includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. President Lula dismissed the remarks, saying that, “He needs to know that the world has changed. We don’t want an emperor.”
In addition to Brazil, Trump has sent 22 tariff letters to nations including Japan, South Korea, and Sri Lanka. Many of the measures revive proposals shelved earlier due to financial market concerns. A separate 50 percent tariff on copper imports, announced earlier this week, is set to take effect on August 1, citing national security reasons.
Despite a generally positive trade balance with Brazil, where the US exported more goods than it imported in the past year, Trump’s targeted action signals a deepening rift with a country he once considered a close ally under Bolsonaro’s leadership.
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