Trump tariffs put Bolsonaro and Brazilian right in a bind
SAO PAULO - U.S. President Donald Trump pitched his 50% tariffs against Brazil as a way to support former President Jair Bolsonaro, but three people close to the right-wing ex-president said they were stunned by the move and fear it may do more harm than good.
Announcing the higher tariffs in a letter last week, Trump cast them as a pressure tactic to help Bolsonaro, who is on trial before the Brazilian Supreme Court for allegedly plotting a coup to overturn his loss in the 2022 presidential election.
Bolsonaro has described the accusations as baseless and insisted he will run for president in 2026, despite a court decision that bars him from the race. In his tariff letter, Trump said his ally Bolsonaro is the victim of a "witch hunt."
Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in 2022, has neither the interest nor the ability to interfere in the case. Last week, he dismissed Trump as an unwanted "emperor" and threatened retaliation if trade negotiations do not advance.
Bolsonaro allies fear the steep tariffs, likely to hurt Brazilian sectors from coffee and orange growers to cattle ranching and the aviation industry, could rally national pride behind a defiant Lula, supporting his sagging popularity.
Backlash against Trump has already given a boost to several of his ideological foes abroad. Left-of-center parties surged to victory in Canadian and Australian elections this year, riding a wave of opposition to Trump's policies, while hard-right Trump allies have struggled in Romania and Hungary.
Bolsonaro's inner circle had been eager for a display of Trump's support since he returned to the White House. Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of the former president's sons, took a leave of absence from Brasilia and moved with his family to rally support for his father in Washington.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Las Vegas Sands' new development part of S'pore's broader, more ambitious transformation: PM Wong
Singapore Economic headwinds do not dampen outlook for new Marina Bay development: Las Vegas Sands president
Business MAS records net profit of $19.7 billion, fuelled by investment gains
Singapore Man charged with attempted murder of woman at Kallang Wave Mall
Singapore Singapore CDL's long-time director Phillip Yeo to depart after boardroom feud
Singapore Ex-cleaner jailed over safety lapses linked to guard's death near 1-Altitude rooftop bar
Life The Violinist, Singapore's first animated historical film, set for August 2026 release
Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years
But the thrill of catching Trump's attention soon curdled as the Bolsonaros realized the crushing weight of the tariffs tied to their cause, according to the sources, who said the family had expected targeted sanctions against one judge overseeing the Supreme Court case.
Now the Bolsonaro clan has no alternative but to support Trump and his letter, even while understanding that the move "could provoke negative reactions," said one of the sources, requesting anonymity to discuss private conversations.
SCATHING EDITORIALS
Last week, in the wake of Trump's tariff announcement, leaders of Brazil's Congress who had been fighting Lula on several fronts issued statements supporting him.
"The banner of nationalism holds a very significant appeal, especially within the right-wing camp," said Graziella Testa, a professor of political science at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Brasília.
A close association with Trump may prove electorally toxic for allies of Bolsonaro, whose political future was already clouded by the threat of a possible prison sentence and the court decision barring him from public office until 2030.
"It is absolutely deplorable that there are still people in Brazil who defend Trump," wrote the conservative opinion page of major Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo in an editorial last week. "Wearing Trump's cap today means aligning oneself with a troglodyte who could cause immense damage to the Brazilian economy."
Bolsonaro representatives declined to comment on the newspaper's editorial.
On Sunday, the former president tried to show empathy for his supporters without alienating Trump.
"It doesn't make me happy to see our rural and urban producers, as well as the people, suffer with this 50% tariff," he said on social media, adding: "The solution is in the hands of the Brazilian authorities."
Other conservative politicians in Brazil are also trying to strike a tricky balance in their public comments.
Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, who launched his political career from Bolsonaro's cabinet and is now seen as a possible heir to his electorate, initially blamed Lula's ideology for the tariff hike on social media.
By Friday, he was shifting focus to Washington, saying on X that he had met with the head of the U.S. Embassy in Brasilia to "open a dialogue ... based on data and consolidated arguments."
The lawmaker Bolsonaro criticized his former ally's efforts to negotiate a compromise and pinned the blame for the situation squarely on Lula's administration, which the hard-right has sought to characterize as a leftist dictatorship.
"I'm sorry, but there is no way to ask President Trump — or any remotely decent international authority — to treat a dictatorship as if it were a democracy," he wrote on X. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
19 minutes ago
- Business Times
Trump says countries will face tariffs ranging from 15% to 50%
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump suggested that he would not go below 15 per cent as he sets so-called 'reciprocal' tariff rates ahead of an Aug 1 deadline, an indication that the floor for the increased levies was rising. 'We will have a straight, simple tariff of anywhere between 15 per cent and 50 per cent,' Trump said on Wednesday (Jul 23) at an AI summit in Washington. 'A couple of – we have 50 because we haven't been getting along with those countries too well.' Trump's comment declaring that the tariffs would begin at 15 per cent represented the latest twist in his effort to impose duties on nearly every US trading partner, and the latest indication that Trump was looking to more aggressively impose the levies on exports from countries outside the small group that so far has been able to broker trade frameworks with Washington. Trump earlier this month said that more than 150 countries would receive a letter including a tariff rate of 'probably 10 or 15 per cent, we haven't decided yet'. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS News on Sunday that small countries, including 'the Latin American countries, the Caribbean countries, many countries in Africa', would have a baseline tariff of 10 per cent. And at the first announcement of the tariffs in April, Trump unveiled a universal tariff of 10 per cent on nearly every country. While Trump and his advisers initially expressed hopes of securing multiple deals, the president has been touting the tariff letters themselves as 'deals' and suggesting that he is uninterested in back-and-forth negotiations. Still, he has left the door open for countries to make agreements that could lower those rates. On Tuesday, Trump announced he was reducing a threatened 25 per cent tariff on Japan to 15 per cent in exchange for the country removing restrictions on some US products as well as offering to back a US$550 billion investment fund. Other nations, including South Korea, India, and members of the European Union, are still pushing for an agreement before the heightened tariffs go into effect. On Wednesday, Trump said that he would 'have a very, very simple tariff for some of the countries' because there were so many nations that 'you can't negotiate deals with everyone'. He said talks with the European Union were 'serious'. 'If they agree to open up the union to American businesses, then we will let them pay a lower tariff,' Trump said. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
19 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Columbia University, Trump administration reach deal over funding
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Columbia University disciplined more than 70 student protesters who occupied a campus library in May. WASHINGTON - Columbia University has reached a deal with US President Donald Trump's administration over federal funding, it said on July 23. In a statement, the university said will pay a US$200 million fine over three years to settle allegations that it failed to do enough to stop the harassment of Jewish students on campus. 'Under today's agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 –will be reinstated and Columbia's access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored,' Columbia said in a statement. The US Department of Education did not immediately respond to request for comment. The announcement came one day after the university disciplined dozens of students over pro-Palestinian protests on campus. In March, the Trump administration canceled grants and contracts worth about US$400 million for the Ivy League school because of what it described as antisemitic harassment on and near the school's New York City campus. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Trump weighed Nvidia breakup but was told it would be ‘very hard'
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks alongside US President Donald Trump at the White House on April 30. NEW YORK - US President Donald Trump said he considered attempting to break up Nvidia to increase competition in artificial intelligence (AI) chips before finding out 'it's not easy in that business.' 'I said, 'Look, we'll break this guy up,' before I learned the facts here,' Mr Trump said on July 23 at an AI summit in Washington. Mr Trump said he was told by aides that doing so was 'very hard' and that the company held a substantial advantage over all competitors that would take years to overcome. 'I figured we could go in and we could sort of break them up a little bit, get them a little competition, and I found out it's not easy in that business,' Mr Trump added. Nvidia declined to comment. Mr Trump went on to praise Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang, who was in the audience for his event. Mr Huang met earlier this month with the president at the White House, and last week the company announced it would be allowed to resume selling its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China as part of a recent trade truce with Beijing. The Trump administration had previously frozen the sale of those chips to China. 'What a job you've done,' Mr Trump said. Throughout his address, the president name-checked and complimented Mr Huang, along with other tech industry leaders, for their investments in the United States. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. World Trump was told he is in Epstein files, Wall Street Journal reports Opinion The US dollar is down, but it has a lot going for it Singapore Judge asks prosecution for more information on Kpods in first case involving etomidate-laced vapes Singapore Singapore Oceanarium will enhance tourism while supporting sustainability: Grace Fu Singapore 5 teens arrested for threatening boy with knife, 2 charged with causing hurt Singapore Over 1.15 million Singaporeans aged 21 to 59 have claimed SG60 vouchers Asia Thailand recalls ambassador, expels Cambodian envoy in border row Asia Japan PM Ishiba refutes reports of imminent resignation after surprise US trade deal Earlier in the day, Mr Huang used his session on stage to praise the president's approach to AI. 'America's unique advantage that no other country can possibly have is President Trump,' Mr Huang said. Nvidia earlier in July became the first company ever to surpass US$4 trillion (S$5 trillion) in market capitalisation, as it has profited heavily from the boom in demand for AI hardware to power large language models. The Justice Department in 2024 conducted an investigation seeking evidence of possible anticompetitive behavior by Nvidia. Mr Trump at the event unveiled his AI Action Plan, which, paired with a series of executive orders, is designed to aid the industry by reducing regulatory burdens. BLOOMBERG
