Trump imposes 50pc tariffs on Brazil

AFP :

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. would impose a 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil after a public spat this week with his Brazilian counterpart who called him an unwanted “emperor.”
In a letter, Trump linked the tariffs to Brazil’s treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro who is on trial over charges of plotting a coup to stop President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office in 2023.
The levies were imposed due “in part to Brazil’s insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans,” the letter said.
Brazil’s real currency added to earlier losses to fall over 2% against the dollar after the announcement, and companies such as planemaker Embraer and oil major Petrobras also suffered setbacks in the U.S. stock market, as markets reacted to levies that are expected to inflict great pain in Brazil.
The Brazilian government didn’t immediately comment on Trump’s tariffs, but Lula, his vice-president, his finance minister, and others were called to an emergency meeting in Brasilia on Wednesday night to discuss the new levies.
The U.S. is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner after China and the tariffs are a major increase from the 10% that were announced in April. Trump’s letter said the 50% tariff will start August 1 and will be separate from all sectoral tariffs.
On Monday, Lula attacked Trump after the U.S. leader had threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on the BRICS group of developing nations which he called “anti-American,” during their summit in Rio de Janeiro.
“The world has changed. We don’t want an emperor,” Lula told reporters when asked about the possible BRICS tariff.
“We are sovereign nations,” Lula added. “If he thinks he can impose tariffs, other countries have the right to impose tariffs too.”
Tensions between the United States and Brazil had already been intensifying on Wednesday after Brazil’s foreign ministry summoned the U.S. Embassy’s chargé d’affaires over a statement defending Bolsonaro.

Around the same time, Trump, speaking to reporters at an event with West African leaders at the White House, said Brazil “has not been good to us, not good at all,” adding that the tariff rates would be based on “very, very substantial facts” and past history.
The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia confirmed on Wednesday that its chargé d’affaires, had a meeting with officials from Brazil’s foreign ministry, though it declined to share details about the conversation.
Trump’s support for Bolsonaro echoed his support for other global right-wing leaders who have faced domestic legal cases like French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump has called cases against those leaders a “witch hunt,” a term he commonly used for cases that he faced himself in the U.S. after the end of his first term in office.
Trump said in a social media post on Monday that Bolsonaro was the victim of such a “witch hunt.” The American Embassy in Brasilia issued a statement on Wednesday to the local press echoing his remarks.

“The political persecution of Jair Bolsonaro, his family and his supporters is shameful and disrespectful of Brazil’s democratic traditions,” it said.
In his letter, Trump also directed U.S. Trade Representative James Greer to initiate a probe into what he called unfair trade practices by Brazil, particularly on U.S. companies’ digital trade. Trump also criticized decisions from Brazil’s Supreme Court that he said censored social media firms.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has long been criticized by Bolsonaro’s allies for ordering social media websites to take down content from leaders of their far-right movement. The court also imposed more responsibilities on those companies last month.
The tariffs on Brazil could have a significant impact on food prices in the United States. Around a third of the coffee consumed in the U.S., the world’s largest drinker of the beverage, comes from Brazil, which is the world’s largest coffee grower. Annual Brazilian coffee exports to the U.S. are close to 8 million bags, according to industry groups.
More than half of the orange juice sold in the U.S. comes from Brazil, which has an 80% share of the juice’s global trade. The South American agricultural powerhouse also sells sugar, beef and ethanol to the U.S., among other products.
“This measure impacts not only Brazil, but the whole U.S. juice industry that employs thousands of people and has had Brazil as its main supplier for decades,” said Ibiapaba Netto, the executive director of Brazilian orange juice industry group CitrusBR.