Trump hits Brazil with tariffs, sanctions judge in Bolsonaro ‘witch hunt' row
The announcement of 50 per cent tariffs saw 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, saying he would defend 'the sovereignty of the Brazilian people in the face of measures announced by the president of the United States.'
Unlike other tariffs 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 (RM1.2 billion) last year.
The moves dramatically increased the pressure on Moraes, who has emerged as a powerful and polarising thorn in the far-right's side, after clashing repeatedly with Bolsonaro and others over disinformation.
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.
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 Moraes by name.
The new duties were announced shortly after the US Treasury slapped sanctions on Moraes, which followed a similar move by the State Department earlier this month.
Brazil's Attorney General Jorge Messias slammed the sanctions as 'arbitrary' and 'unjustifiable.'
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 Lula, his vice president Geraldo Alckmin, and Moraes.
Brazil has refused to drop the charges, and Trump's intervention in the case has so far boosted Lula's popularity.
On Wednesday, 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 Wednesday announcing the new sanctions against Moraes.
'Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies,' Bessent said.
Rubio, who accused Moraes in his statement of 'serious human rights abuses,' also met his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Viera, on Wednesday. Viera said that Brazil's judiciary would 'not bow to external pressure.'
Moraes, 56, has played a controversial role in fighting disinformation.
He was an omnipresent figure during the polarising 2022 election campaign, aggressively using his rulings to fight election disinformation on social media.
Last year, he ordered the shutdown of tech titan Elon Musk's X network in Brazil for 40 days for failing to tackle disinformation shared mainly by Bolsonaro backers.
Bolsonaro has called Moraes a dictator, while his son Eduardo had lobbied for US sanctions against the 'totalitarian' judge.
On Wednesday, 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
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