TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US President Donald Trump imposed massive import tariffs on Brazil on Wednesday and sanctions on the judge overseeing the trial of his right-wing ally, Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup in Latin America's largest economy.
As reported by Arab News, the announcement of the 50 percent tariffs is a clear sign of Trump's threat to use American economic power to punish Brazil—and specifically Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes—for what he called a "witch hunt" against former President Bolsonaro.
Unlike Trump's tariffs on countries around the world, the action against Brazil has been framed in overtly political terms, wiping out centuries of trade relations and a surplus estimated at $284 million last year.
Trump had previously threatened to impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazil effective Friday, August 1, 2025, in a letter sent earlier this month to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In the letter, as reported by CNN, Trump threatened to impose steep tariffs if Brazil did not end its trial of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro, who boasts of his close relationship with Trump, is facing trial for an alleged coup attempt against Lula. Trump has publicly rejected the proceedings, and his order accused Bolsonaro's prosecution of being "politically motivated."
The measures dramatically increase pressure on Moraes, who has emerged as one of Brazil's most influential figures—and a thorn in the side of the far-right, after repeatedly clashing with Bolsonaro and others over disinformation.
Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 40 percent tariff on Brazilian products, including copper, bringing the total trade tariff to 50 percent, the White House announced.
Copper is a key component in a wide range of goods, including electronics, machinery, and cars, and tariffs on the raw material could make those products more expensive. The US imported $17 billion worth of copper last year, according to US Department of Commerce data. Chile is the largest foreign supplier of the metal, shipping $6 billion worth of it to the US last year.
The order states that the new duties will not take effect for seven days, and lists exceptions for several key Brazilian exports—including aircraft, orange juice and pulp, Brazil nuts, and some iron, steel, and aluminum products.
"The Brazilian government's persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and politically motivated prosecution of (Bolsonaro) and thousands of his supporters constitute serious human rights violations that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil," the White House said in a fact sheet announcing the tariffs.
The White House also cited Brazil's "unusual and extraordinary policies and actions that harm US companies, the free speech rights of US citizens, US foreign policy, and the US economy," and specifically singled out Moraes.
The new duties were announced shortly after the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Moraes, which followed a similar action taken by the US State Department earlier this month.
The sanctions prompted a swift and strong response from Brasilia, with Attorney General Jorge Messias denouncing them as “arbitrary,” “unjustified,” and a “serious attack on our country’s sovereignty.”
There was no immediate reaction from Brasilia to the tariff announcement, but President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had previously denounced Trump’s threats as “unacceptable blackmail.”
In a rare interview with the New York Times, clearly designed to send a message to the White House ahead of a potential trade war, Lula urged the US president to avoid creating a “lose-lose” relationship between the two largest economies in the Americas. Lula said he was not afraid to openly criticize Trump, whom he recently called “emperor.”
“There’s no reason to be afraid. I’m worried, of course, because we have economic interests, political interests, technological interests. However, Brazil will not negotiate as if it were a small country against a large country. Brazil will negotiate as a sovereign nation,” said Lula, whose popularity has surged in opinion polls following Trump’s threats.
Lula indicated that his officials were willing to negotiate on economic issues with the US: "In politics between two countries, the desires of one party cannot prevail. We always need to find a middle ground. This is achieved not by puffing out our chests and shouting things we cannot fulfill, or by bowing our heads and simply saying 'amen' to whatever the United States wants."
However, the Brazilian president indicated that the political future of Bolsonaro – who allegedly plotted Lula's assassination – is a legal matter and therefore non-negotiable.
"Brazil has a constitution, and former presidents are tried with the full right to defend themselves," Lula asserted.
The 79-year-old left-wing politician said his message to Trump was "that Brazilians and Americans do not deserve to be political victims, if President Trump's reason for imposing these taxes on Brazil is because of a case involving former President Bolsonaro."
Bolsonaro faces up to 40 years in prison for allegedly plotting a coup to retain power after losing the 2022 election to the left-leaning Lula.
Prosecutors say the plot included plans to arrest and even kill Lula, his vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, and Moraes.
Brazil has insisted on pursuing its prosecution of Bolsonaro, and Trump's intervention in the case has so far boosted Lula's popularity, as the Brazilian leader called for national unity in the face of US "interference."
Both Marco Rubio, America's top diplomat, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued statements on Wednesday announcing new sanctions against Moraes. "Moraes has taken it upon himself to be both judge and jury in an illegal witch hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies," Bessent said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Moraes of "serious human rights violations, including arbitrary detention involving a flagrant denial of fair trial guarantees and violations of freedom of expression."
Moraes, 56, has played a key role in combating disinformation.
He was a prominent figure during the divisive 2022 election campaign, aggressively using his ruling to combat election disinformation on social media.
Last year, he ordered the 40-day shutdown of Elon Musk's tech giant X Network in Brazil for failing to address the spread of disinformation largely spread by Bolsonaro supporters.
Bolsonaro has called Moraes a dictator, while his son, Eduardo, has lobbied for US sanctions against the "totalitarian" judge.
On Wednesday, Eduardo Bolsonaro said the US action was "not about revenge, it's about justice."
"Abuse of power now has global consequences," he wrote in X.
The US Treasury Department cited the Magnitsky Act as the basis for the sanctions. This law freezes US-based assets and bans travel to the country for foreign officials accused of human rights abuses or corruption.
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