Trump punishes Brazil with 50% tariffs, sanctions over trial of ally Bolsonaro

Straits Times

2 days ago

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The announcement of 50 per cent tariffs saw Mr Donald Trump make good on his threat to wield US economic might to punish Brazil.
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA - President Donald Trump ordered massive tariffs on Brazil July 30 and sanctions against the judge overseeing a trial of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup in Latin America's biggest economy.
The announcement of 50 per cent tariffs saw Mr Trump make good on his threat to wield US economic might to punish Brazil – and its Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, in particular – for what he has termed a 'witch hunt' against former president Bolsonaro.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hit back at the move, vowing on July 30 to defend his country.
'I will participate in a meeting to defend... the sovereignty of the Brazilian people in the face of measures announced by the president of the United States,' he said at a public event in Brasilia.
Unlike other tariffs Mr Trump is slapping on economies around the world, the measures against Brazil have been framed in openly political terms, sweeping aside centuries-old trade ties and a surplus that Brasilia put at US$284 million (S$368 million) in 2024.
The moves dramatically increased the pressure on Mr Moraes, who has emerged as one of the most powerful and polarising people in Brazil – and a consistent thorn in the far-right's side, after clashing repeatedly with Bolsonaro and others over disinformation.
Mr Trump's executive order added a 40 per cent tariff on Brazilian products, bringing total trade duties to 50 per cent, the White House announced.
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The order said the new duties would not come into effect for seven days, and listed exemptions on some of Brazil's major exports – including planes, orange juice and pulp, Brazil nuts, and some iron, steel and aluminum products.
The Brazilian government's 'politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of (Bolsonaro) and thousands of his supporters are serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil', the White House said in a fact sheet announcing the tariffs.
It also cited Brazil's 'unusual and extraordinary policies and actions harming US companies, the free speech rights of US persons, US foreign policy, and the US economy,' and singled out Mr Moraes by name.
The new duties were announced shortly after the US Treasury slapped sanctions on Mr Moraes, which followed a similar move by the State Department earlier in July.
The sanctions provoked a swift and furious response from Brasilia, where Attorney General Jorge Messias slammed them as 'arbitrary', 'unjustifiable' and 'a serious attack on the sovereignty of our country.'
Bolsonaro is facing up to 40 years in prison for allegedly plotting a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to leftist Lula.
Prosecutors say the plot included a plan to arrest and even assassinate Mr Lula, his vice-president Geraldo Alckmin, and Mr Moraes.
Brazil has insisted it will proceed in its prosecution of Bolsonaro, and Mr Trump's intervention in the case has so far boosted Mr Lula's popularity, as the Brazilian leader appeals for national unity in the face of US 'interference'.
On July 30, Human Rights Watch's Americas director Juanita Goebertus declared the US tariffs and sanctions 'a clear violation of judicial independence'.
'Witch hunt'
Both US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued statements on July 30 announcing the new sanctions against Mr Moraes.
'Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies,' Mr Bessent said.
Mr Rubio accused Mr Moraes of 'serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and infringing on the freedom of expression'.
Mr Moraes, 56, has played a controversial role in fighting disinformation.
He was an omnipresent figure during the polarizing 2022 election campaign, aggressively using his rulings to fight election disinformation on social media.
In 2024, he ordered the shutdown of tech titan Elon Musk's X network in Brazil for 40 days for failing to tackle the spread of disinformation shared mainly by Bolsonaro backers.
Bolsonaro has called Mr Moraes a dictator, while his son Eduardo had lobbied for US sanctions against the 'totalitarian' judge.
On July 30, Mr Eduardo Bolsonaro said the US action was 'not about revenge, it's about justice'.
'Abuses of authority now have global consequences,' he wrote on X.
The US Treasury cited the Magnitsky Act for the sanctions. It freezes US-based assets and bars travel to the country for foreign officials accused of human rights abuses or corruption. AFP