On Friday President Trump imposed an unprecedented whopping 50% tariff on products imported into the US from Brazil, including nearly one-third of the coffee Americans consume daily.
This is despite the US having maintained a trade surplus with Brazil amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars over the past decade, and it’s all tied to the political firestorm of ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro’s trial, and Trump’s efforts to defend his friend known as the ‘Brazilian Donald Trump’.
The 50% tariff on select Brazilian imports is the highest rate currently applied to any nation globally, and with tiny Switzerland coming in second, having been shocked by its 39% tariff rate, which are the highest tariffs in Europe.
On Switzerland, the BBC writes, “It’s the one story dominating the news and the airwaves on Friday. One newspaper, Blick, described it as the country’s biggest defeat since French victory in the battle of Marignano in 1515.”
But on the Brazil front, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has slammed the Trump tariffs as blatant political interference and says the government is preparing a response.Â
“We have always been open for a dialogue,” President Lula wrote on X. “We are working now to respond to the US tariff measures,” Lula da Silva said.
“Only citizens and institutions of Brazil have the right to determine the country’s path, including the relations with the United States,” he added.
The US has included some exemptions:
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday slapped a 50% tariff on most Brazilian goods to fight what he has called a “witch hunt” against former President Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from heavier levies.
Trump announced the tariffs, some of the steepest levied on any economy in the U.S. trade war, as his administration also unveiled sanctions on the Brazilian supreme court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro’s trial on charges of plotting a coup.
Lula previously vowed to introduce tit-for-tat tariffs if Washington does not reconsider, while also expressing hope that his Brazilian delegation will be able to achieve the revision of tariffs through negotiations.
The US has sought to present this as more than just political and more than merely motivated by protection of Trump-ally Bolsonaro, however.
For example Wednesday’s US Treasury statement announcing sanctions on those who are going after Bolsonaro also cited Brazil’s “unusual and extraordinary” actions as harmful to American businesses, free speech, and economic interests.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the former president, has defended Trump’s actions, saying it’s not about revenge, but justice. Meanwhile Trump has said that President Lula can call him anytime.
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