In a significant escalation of trade tensions, US President Donald Trump threatened Brazil with 50% prices on their imports to the United States.
The tariff threat seems to be a regular part of Donald Trump’s game book, but this time it seems that it is more than a commercial issue.
The last threat of Trump, the clearest to date, has frightened the world markets and has a lot wondering what really stimulates such an aggressive decision.
In an article on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that prices, which were to take effect on August 1, were partly imposed in response to “Sneaky attacks in Brazil against free elections and the main rights to the freedom of expression of the Americans”.
Why is Brazil faced Donald Trump’s anger?
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Donald Trump’s decision seems to be rooted in his solid support as Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president and a longtime political ally.
Bolsonaro is currently faced with a trial on allegations that he tried to reverse the results of the Brazil elections in 2022.
Trump did not retain because he criticized the trial as “witch hunt” and “international shame”, urging Brazil to abandon the accusations and to paint the case as a politically motivated attack against a conservative colleague.
Many consider Trump’s pricing threat as a means of bending American economic muscles in the hope of influencing Brazil’s domestic policy.
By hitting Brazil with such a severe measure, he clearly indicates that he will not be silent while an ally, in his opinion, is treated unjustly.
It marks a clear break in standard diplomatic practice, where foreign commercial and judicial affairs are generally in distinct paths.
Brazil controversial legislation
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Donald Trump’s frustrations go beyond Bolsonaro’s legal problems. He also targeted the Brazilian treatment of American technological companies.
In recent months, Brazil has made a tax on digital services and has rendered judicial orders against the main American social media platforms, Trump moves as a censorship and unfair restrictions on digital trade.
He maintains that actions like these stifle freedom of expression and put American companies in a disadvantage abroad.
To increase things even more, Trump stressed what he describes as a “unfair commercial relationship” with Brazil, insisting that the United States loses due to trade deficits.
But the figures do not support it because in reality, the United States manages a trade surplus with Brazil in goods and services.
This gap between rhetoric and facts suggests that its pricing threat could have more to do with politics than with real economic grieving.
Brazil did not waste time by hitting. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticized this decision as a clear overtaking, calling this an unacceptable intrusion into the sovereignty of Brazil.
He warned that if the United States continues the prices, Brazil will respond in kind, citing its law on economic reciprocity.
Diplomatic tensions are already warm with Brazil recalling his Washington ambassador and invoking the American envoy to Brasília to file an official demonstration.
