Lock the White House Watch Newsletter for free
Your Guide to What Trump’s Second Season Means Washington, Business and World
Donald Trump has threatened to strike Brazil with a 50% tariff, accusing him of blackmailing it in a massive escalation of tensions between the US and Latin America’s biggest economy.
In a letter posted to Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump was attacked by the government of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva about his treatment of former Brazilian right-wing president, Jea Bolsonaro.
Trump said Bolsonaro, who is on trial for alleged coups, is “a highly respected leader around the world during his term,” and “a witch hunt that should be over soon!”
He added that tariffs, which will be effective from August 1, will be “partially” applied due to Brazil’s “insidious attack on free elections and the basic right to free speech for Americans.”
The US president also accused Brazil’s Supreme Court of issuing “hundreds of secret and illegal censorship orders” against US social media platforms, threatening them with millions of dollars fines and “evictions” from the country.
Brazilian currency fell 2.3% against the US dollar to $558 million in afternoon trading in New York. Bovespa Share Index futures extended the fall after Trump’s announcement, falling 2.3% by evening in Sao Paulo.
The letter to Brazil was Trump’s eighth post on Wednesday, as he put pressure on US trading partners to attack transactions and face taxation as part of a broader barrage of 22 countries recently.
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump imposed tariffs of 25% to 30% on Algeria, Brunei, Iraq, Libya, Moldova, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The letter followed the threat of 25% tariffs in Japan and South Korea on Monday.
However, other countries received almost identical letters referring to the “strength and commitment” of their recipient’s business relationship with the US, but letters to the most populous countries in Latin America were significantly different.
The 50% tariffs threatened are significantly higher than the 10% collection imposed on Brazil as part of its “mutual” obligation on April 2.
After Trump previously said he would announce a new import tax in Brazil, before he announced the 50% tax rate, Brazil’s Vice President and Trade Minister Gerald Alcumin described the new tariffs as “unfair” and said his country would not bring any problems for the United States.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to increase the tariffs in Brazil,” he told reporters in Brasilia. “The US has a trade deficit, but there is a surplus with Brazil.”
According to the US Trade Representative, the US registered a $7.4 billion commodity trade surplus with the country in 2024.
Alckmin cited the steel example, saying new US tariffs on Brazil’s imports would harm the US economy.
“We are the third largest buyer of American ironwork coal. We manufacture and sell semi-finished products to the US.
Local media reports say Brasilia has called for an emergency cabinet meeting.
Trump’s explosion on the left-wing president’s administration has led to two biggest democracies in the Americas, close to a diplomatic crisis.
The intervention of the US president in support of Bolsonaro supports Brazil’s far-right movement. This argues that judicial crackdowns against digital misinformation are unfairly targeting conservatives.
Prosecutors indicted Bolsonaro for planning an abortion Putsch, which allegedly aimed at maintaining power after losing his re-election bid for Lula in 2022. The populists on the right deny cheating.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May that Washington was considering sanctions against Alexandre de Moraes, one of Brazil’s Supreme Court justice.
The judge clashed with Elon Musk over the billionaire X platform last year, temporarily banning the Brazilian website.
Recommended
Trump’s letter to Brazil follows his threat to a 10% tariff on members of the BRICS block, the South American state founder. Republicans on Sunday night denounced groups of developing countries against “anti-American policies” groups.
At the annual BRICS summit held in Rio de Janeiro this week, Lula returned to the warning and urged an alternative to the US dollar in trade. This is a proposal Trump is already aiming for.
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry summoned its representative US ambassador earlier that day after an embassy statement expressing support for Bolsonaro.
The country’s Supreme Court declined to comment.
