Steeper US Tariffs Take Effect On Many Brazilian Goods
Trump's latest salvo brings duties on various Brazilian goods from 10 percent to 50 percent, although broad exemptions -- including for orange juice and civil aircraft -- are expected to soften the blow.
Brazil's vice president Geraldo Alckmin previously told media that the new tariff would apply to just around 36 percent of Brazil's exports to the United States.
But analysts said it still hits key goods like coffee, beef, and sugar.
In an executive order announcing the tariffs last week, the Trump administration lashed out at Brazilian officials for "unjustified criminal charges" against their country's former president Bolsonaro, who is accused of planning a coup.
Bolsonaro is on trial for allegedly plotting to hold onto power after losing the 2022 elections to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Trump's order, which also criticized Brazil's digital regulation, charged that the Brazilian government's recent policies and actions threatened the US economy, national security, and foreign policy.
But analysts have flagged major exclusions in the tariff hike.
Valentina Sader, an expert on Brazil at the Atlantic Council, noted that there are nearly 700 exemptions.
"The tariffs are not good, but they expected worse," Sader said in a recent note.
She predicts the Brazilian economy likely "will withstand the duties."
"The government seems to be looking to subsidize some of the most impacted sectors, but we might see Brazil looking to diversify its export markets," she told AFP.
The tariff hike on Brazilian goods comes a day before a separate wave of higher US duties are set to take effect on dozens of economies ranging from the European Union to Taiwan -- as Trump moves to reshape global trade.
Analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics estimate that these incoming tariff increases are expected to boost the average effective tariff rate for US imports to nearly 20 percent.
This marks the highest level since at least the 1930s, according to the Budget Lab at Yale University.
But US tensions with Brazil are not likely to dissipate soon, with a Brazilian judge placing Bolsonaro under house arrest on Monday for breaking a social media ban.
While the 70-year-old is barred from social media during legal proceedings -- with third parties also not allowed to share his public remarks -- his allies defied the order on Sunday.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes -- who is presiding over Bolsonaro's trial -- reacted furiously. Washington recently imposed sanctions on Moraes as well.
Trump's pressure campaign has angered many Brazilians but endeared him to Bolsonaro's conservative base.
"Brazilians have not taken well to what they perceive to be a clear intervention on domestic affairs and an independent judiciary," Sader of the Atlantic Council said.
"And President Lula has been firm that the government is open to dialogue and negotiations, but not to foreign interference on Brazilian affairs," she added.
"Brazilian sovereignty is off the table," she said. In ordering tariffs on many Brazilian products, US President Donald Trump (left) criticized the prosecution of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting a coup after losing the 2022 elections to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (right) AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
an hour ago
- Int'l Business Times
Accumulating Bitcoin A Risky Digital Rush By Companies?
US President Donald Trump's media group and Tesla, the electric carmaker owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, are among an increasing number of companies buying huge amounts of bitcoin. The aim? To diversify reserves, counter inflation and attract investors, analysts say. Companies frequently own bitcoin -- the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation -- to take part in sector activities such as "mining", which refers to the process of validating transactions in exchange for digital tokens. Tesla has previously accepted payments in bitcoin, while Trump Media soon plans to offer crypto investment products. Other players who had core operations totally unrelated to cryptocurrency, such as Japanese hotel business MetaPlanet, have switched to buying bitcoin. US firm Strategy, initially a seller of software under the name MicroStrategy, holds more than three percent of all bitcoin tokens, or over 600,000. Its co-founder Michael Saylor "created real value for its original set of investors" by offering the opportunity to invest in shares linked to cryptocurrencies, Andy Constan, chief executive of financial analysts Damped Spring Advisors, told AFP. This was five years ago when other financial products allowing investment in cryptocurrencies, without a need to directly own tokens, were not permitted. Companies collect bitcoins "to diversify" their cash flow and "counter the effects of inflation", said Eric Benoist, a tech and data research expert for Natixis bank. Some struggling companies are riding the trend in a bid to "restore their image" by "backing themselves with an asset perceived as solid and one that appreciates over time", he added. Strategy's current focus is on accumulating bitcoin, simply to attract investors interested in the currency's potential. Bitcoin can also have a simple practical use, as in the case of the Coinbase exchange, which uses its own reserves as collateral for its users. Bitcoin's value has soared around ninefold in five years, fuelled recently by US regulatory changes under Trump, a strong backer of the crypto sector. However, the unit's volatility is four times greater than that of the main US stock index, the S&P 500, according to Campbell Harvey, a professor of finance at Duke University in the United States. Harvey warns against using a company's cash reserves, "their safe haven", to buy crypto. Bitcoin's price, currently around $117,000, has in recent years been boosted by large holders of cryptocurrency, referred to as "whales". Harvey argues that in the case of "major buyer" Strategy, liquidating all their 600,000 bitcoin tokens is no simple task owing to the high value. "Assuming that you could liquidate all of those bitcoin at the market price is a heroic assumption," he told AFP, adding such a deal would see the cryptocurrency's price plummet. Jack Mallers, chief executive and co-founder of bitcoin-focused company Twenty One Capital, said his business embraced the sector's volatility, adding the market would need to be flooded for the token's price to crash. According to its own calculation, Strategy's stock is selling at about 70 percent above the value of its bitcoin reserves. The company -- which did not answer AFP's request for comment -- is growing thanks to bitcoin purchases, which in turn is attracting investors and pushing up its share price. But ultimately it will need to monetise these crypto assets, for example by linking them to financial products, for its business to be sustained. Should Strategy and other so-called "bitcoin treasury funds" fail to do so, Benoist fears the crypto investment bubble will burst. He points out that the strategy of accumulation runs counter to the original philosophy of bitcoin, which was conceived in 2008 as a decentralised means of payment. Today, "bitcoins end up in electronic safes that are left untouched", he said.
DW
2 hours ago
- DW
Trump to host Armenia and Azerbaijan leaders – DW – 08/08/2025
Donald Trump is set to host the leaders of long-time adversaries Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev will join the US president at the White House "to pursue economic opportunities," Trump said. US President Donald Trump is to host a "peace summit" on Friday between long-time adversaries Armenia and Azerbaijan at the White House. Trump announced the summit via his Truth Social platform, saying Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan would both be attending. "President Aliyev AND Prime Minister Pashinyan will join me at the White House for an official Peace Signing Ceremony," Trump posted. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Sworn enemies for decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan have twice gone to war over the disputed Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured from Armenian forces in a 2023 offensive, sparking the exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians. The two former Soviet republics have held talks aimed at securing a peaceful resolution, including last month in the United Arab Emirates, but a breakthrough has so far proved elusive. "These two Nations have been at War for many years, resulting in the deaths of thousands of people," Trump wrote. "Many Leaders have tried to end the War, with no success, until now, thanks to 'TRUMP.' My Administration has been engaged with both sides for quite some time," he added, saying he was "very proud of these courageous Leaders for doing the right thing." Friday "will be a Historic Day for Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United States, and, THE WORLD," Trump said. The US president also said that Washington will sign bilateral deals with both nations "to pursue Economic opportunities together, so we can fully unlock the potential of the South Caucasus Region." The latest diplomatic push from Washington comes a day after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said he had nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. Trump has repeatedly praised his own diplomatic efforts, saying he deserves the prize, He has long-since vowed to end the war in Ukraine, though has yet to yield any results, with Russia's full-scale invasion at the three-and-a-half year mark. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated as his efforts continue to fall on deaf ears, at least in Moscow. Conflict in Gaza is still raging while the United States is one of three countries which account for almost all of Israel's weapons supply, along with Germany and Italy. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Int'l Business Times
3 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Oil Industry Presence Surges At UN Plastic Talks: NGOs
Environmental NGOs are raising concerns about the growing presence of petrochemical industry lobbyists at talks to forge a global treaty to combat plastic pollution. More than 180 countries are meeting at the United Nations in Geneva in a bid to thrash out a landmark agreement aimed at tackling the scourge of plastic pollution -- looking at the full life-cycle of plastic, from production to pollution. The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) said it had counted 234 publicly disclosed fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists registered to attend the 10-day negotiations, which run until August 14. Industry lobbyists "should not be able to attend these negotiations," CIEL's Rachel Radvany told AFP. They have "direct conflicts of interest with the goal of the treaty." "Their interest is in maintaining plastic production -- and the industry is set to triple by 2060," she said. Dubbed INC5.2, the talks resume the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop a legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution, continuing negotiations that stalled last year in South Korea. CIEL, a Washington- and Geneva-based non-governmental organisation which provides legal support to developing countries, scrutinises the lists of accredited participants provided by the UN. It counted 104 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists at the INC2 session in Paris in 2022; 143 at INC3 in Nairobi in 2023, and 196 at INC4 in Ottawa in April 2024. There were 220 at the supposedly final INC5.1 in Busan in South Korea in November 2024, which failed to seal a deal. The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) confirmed they had 136 delegates at the talks representing the plastic, petrochemical and chemical manufacturing industries. "While we are significantly outnumbered by the more than 1,500 NGO participants, we recognise and value the UN's commitment to broad stakeholder participation as vital to achieving our shared goal of ending plastic pollution," ICCA spokesman Matthew Kastner told AFP. "Our delegates are here to listen to governments so we can understand the unique challenges they face and bring solutions." Radvany recalled that for the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, adopted in 2003, tobacco industry representatives were not allowed in during the negotiations. Green groups and have also long protested the heavy presence of oil, gas and coal lobbyists at annual UN climate talks. The burning of of fossil fuels is by far the main driver of global warming. Beyond the 234 industry lobbyists CIEL has pinpointed in Geneva, INC5.2 has 3,700 registered participants and the NGO believes there are likely many more lobbyists operating more covertly within country delegations. Some countries have delegates with titles like "third chemical engineer", which are not included in CIEL's count. Their study also does not include representatives from plastic-consuming sectors such as the food and cosmetics industries, which are also heavily represented at the negotiations. Another NGO, the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), denounced the limited seating for observers in the rooms where the technical details of the treaty are thrashed out, saying the chairs were "flooded by industry lobbyists" -- effectively preventing civil society from participating. Greenpeace staged a protest on Thursday at the UN's main entrance gate, scaling up to the roof to unveil banners reading "Big oil polluting inside" and "Plastics treaty not for sale". "Each round of negotiations brings more oil and gas lobbyists into the room. Fossil fuel and petrochemical giants are polluting the negotiations from the inside, and we're calling on the UN to kick them out," said Greenpeace delegation chief Graham Forbes. "Corporate polluters that created this problem must not be allowed to stop the world from solving it." Global plastics production could almost triple between 2019 and 2060 AFP Delegates gather for UN talks on securing a treaty on plastic pollution AFP
