Trump Pledges 50% Tariffs Against Brazil, Citing ‘Witch Hunt’ Against Bolsonaro

Say it aint so · Thursday at 10:55 AM

First, President Trump said that he planned to impose a 50 percent tariff on all Brazilian imports, partly in retaliation for what he sees as a “witch hunt” against his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial for attempting a coup.

In a letter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Mr. Trump wrote that the new tariffs would take effect on Aug. 1. “The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace.” --NYT

Bolsonaro was a right wing authoritarian. Bolsonaro tried to steal the election. He used his office to enrich himself replete with luxury gifts from the middle east.
So when Trump sees him, he sees a lot of himself.

And then there is this:

In his letter, Mr. Trump said the 50 percent tariff was needed to “have the Level Playing Field we must have with your Country” and “to rectify the grave injustices of the current regime.”

Mr. Trump also incorrectly said the United States had a trade deficit with Brazil. For years, the United States has generally maintained a trade surplus with Brazil. The two countries had about $92 billion in trade together last year, with the United States enjoying a $7.4 billion surplus in the relationship. The top products traded are aircraft, oil, machinery and iron.

So there you go. The United States saw a $7.4 billion trade surplus with Brazil and the USA government is going to introduce a tax on its own citizens who buy Brazilian products? You just can't make this up.

Fantine · Thursday at 11:01 AM

Bolsonaro is apparently under indictment and on trial.

Trump was referring to the Supreme Court’s indictment of Bolsonaro for allegedly conspiring with military chiefs and former ministers to thwart the inauguration of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2023.

https://efe.com/en/latest-news/2025-07-10/trump-announces-50-tariff-on-brazil-for-bolsonaros-trial/

Sounds like the exact same situation we have in America with Trump's insurrection--except that the people of Brazil are obviously smarter and more demanding of accountability than our country's citizens are.

Maria Billingsley · Saturday at 9:50 AM

Say it aint so said:
First, President Trump said that he planned to impose a 50 percent tariff on all Brazilian imports, partly in retaliation for what he sees as a “witch hunt” against his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial for attempting a coup.

In a letter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Mr. Trump wrote that the new tariffs would take effect on Aug. 1. “The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace.” --NYT

Bolsonaro was a right wing authoritarian. Bolsonaro tried to steal the election. He used his office to enrich himself replete with luxury gifts from the middle east.
So when Trump sees him, he sees a lot of himself.

And then there is this:

In his letter, Mr. Trump said the 50 percent tariff was needed to “have the Level Playing Field we must have with your Country” and “to rectify the grave injustices of the current regime.”

Mr. Trump also incorrectly said the United States had a trade deficit with Brazil. For years, the United States has generally maintained a trade surplus with Brazil. The two countries had about $92 billion in trade together last year, with the United States enjoying a $7.4 billion surplus in the relationship. The top products traded are aircraft, oil, machinery and iron.

So there you go. The United States saw a $7.4 billion trade surplus with Brazil and the USA government is going to introduce a tax on its own citizens who buy Brazilian products? You just can't make this up.

They do stick together!

MyOwnSockPuppet · Saturday at 3:19 PM

Trump is... doing tariffs for spurious/nonsensical/irrelevant reasons...

Does the expression "one trick pony" ring a bell?

Most actual businesses (of the sort that actually make things, rather than those that just move numbers round on spreadsheets) put quite a premium on stability, reliability and predictability.

Having tariff rates seemingly change based on how well the president's dinner is sitting with him in the early hours of the morning doesn't fit with that at all (of the two announced "deals" one is an agreement for the outline of the process for negotiating a deal, and the other was agreed between the negotiating teams as a flat 11%, before it suddenly became 20% by "truth media" post.

I doubt that any country is going to simply embargo trade with the US, but if enough businesses simply can't reliably and predictably trade with the US and just give up trading with the US as more trouble than it's worth, then the effect will be the same.

Fantine · Saturday at 7:22 PM

Oh no! A politician whose life is a mirror image of Trump's is on trial for election interference. Trump is angry. And how does he express that anger? He takes it out on us. Given Brazil's many exports of sugar, soybeans, iron ore, and more we will be paying higher prices on many items just because he is having a temper tantrum. That's not how government should work.

Say it aint so · Sunday at 11:40 AM

MyOwnSockPuppet said:
Trump is... doing tariffs for spurious/nonsensical/irrelevant reasons...

Does the expression "one trick pony" ring a bell?

Most actual businesses (of the sort that actually make things, rather than those that just move numbers round on spreadsheets) put quite a premium on stability, reliability and predictability.

Having tariff rates seemingly change based on how well the president's dinner is sitting with him in the early hours of the morning doesn't fit with that at all (of the two announced "deals" one is an agreement for the outline of the process for negotiating a deal, and the other was agreed between the negotiating teams as a flat 11%, before it suddenly became 20% by "truth media" post.

I doubt that any country is going to simply embargo trade with the US, but if enough businesses simply can't reliably and predictably trade with the US and just give up trading with the US as more trouble than it's worth, then the effect will be the same.

You can also think beyond business and look at country to country trade agreements. Other countries are looking at the US, and no longer see them as a reliable trading partner to have an assurity of stable markets. Just think, last Trump' presidency the USMCA agreement was created. Five years later that's in the trash bin ripped up by the same Trump. Just think how long it takes those to adjust to the USMCA agreement, and bam, that gets trashed. It's reason why you see headlines like this today: "American Allies Want to Redraw the World’s Trade Map, Minus the U.S." and "Under Attack by Trump’s Tariffs, Asian Countries Seek Out Better Friends" They are not shying away from US trade, but they sure are looking to minimize any future potential impacts the next time the US elects a shallow minded simpleton.

MyOwnSockPuppet · Sunday at 1:15 PM

Say it aint so said:
You can also think beyond business and look at country to country trade agreements. Other countries are looking at the US, and no longer see them as a reliable trading partner to have an assurity of stable markets. Just think, last Trump' presidency the USMCA agreement as created. Five years later that's in the trash bin ripped up by the same Trump. Just think how long it takes those to adjust to the USMCA agreement, and bam, that gets trashed. It's reason why you see headlines like this today: "American Allies Want to Redraw the World’s Trade Map, Minus the U.S." and "Under Attack by Trump’s Tariffs, Asian Countries Seek Out Better Friends" They are not shying away from US trade, but they sure are looking to minimize any future potential impacts the next time the US elects a shallow minded simpleton.

How's about almost single-handedly crushing your own country's arms industry? In March he managed to do the double - killing off future sales by explicitly saying that sales to allies will be "nerfed" and doing his level best to retroactively kill existing deals by suggesting the presence of a "kill switch" in their products.

The big question - Is an ally who bullies you solely for their benefit still an ally or just someone looking for a client state?

mark46 · 2025-07-14T08:35:56-0500

Fantine said:
Bolsonaro is apparently under indictment and on trial.

https://efe.com/en/latest-news/2025-07-10/trump-announces-50-tariff-on-brazil-for-bolsonaros-trial/

Sounds like the exact same situation we have in America with Trump's insurrection--except that the people of Brazil are obviously smarter and more demanding of accountability than our country's citizens are.

Companies are unlikely to import anything from Brazil and pay a 50% tariff, with the possible exception of coffee.

More likely is TACO Trump backing down to a much lower tariff really affecting only coffee.

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Trump Pledges 50% Tariffs Against Brazil, Citing ‘Witch Hunt’ Against Bolsonaro

Say it aint so

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Fantine

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Maria Billingsley

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MyOwnSockPuppet

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Say it aint so

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