This Wednesday, the Republican administration of Donald Trump published a letter addressed to the Government of Brazil in which they notified that they will apply a 50% tariff starting August 1st on products from the South American giant that enter the United States.
According to the letter, this is in retaliation for the trial that the Brazilian court has been conducting against former president Jair Bolsonaro and for the cases against American technology giants in that country.
"The way Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro (...) is an international disgrace. This trial should not be happening. It is a witch hunt that must end IMMEDIATELY," Trump wrote in a letter to Lula.
Specifically, Trump is referring to the prosecution of the former president for an attempted coup, a case that has him in the dock.
"Due in part to Brazil's insidious attacks on free elections and Americans' fundamental rights to freedom of expression (...) we will be charging Brazil a 50% tariff on each and every Brazilian product shipped to the United States," he added in the letter published on his Truth Social platform.
In the document, the US president threatened that if Brasilia decides to increase taxes on US imports,"the amount it chooses to raise them will be added to the 50%" it will begin charging starting next month.
"If you wish to open your trade markets, which have been closed until now, to the U.S. and eliminate your tariff and non-tariff policies, as well as trade barriers, we may consider adjusting this letter. These duties may be adjusted upward or downward depending on our relationship with your country," he concluded.
The text, sent to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is the first to significantly modify the content of letters sent so far, which only changed the name of the country and the percentage of the proposed tax.
Brazil recalls US chargé d'affaires for consultations
This Wednesday, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry recalled the U.S. chargé d'affaires in the South American nation. The reason is that the U.S. government previously published a statement strongly defending Bolsonaro.
Official sources told Efe news agency that Gabriel Escobar, the person in charge of the diplomatic mission in the absence of an ambassador, was summoned after the embassy published a harsh note on Wednesday about the ongoing trial against Bolsonaro, who had already been criticized this week by President Donald Trump.
The note in question states that"Jair Bolsonaro and his family have been strong partners of the United States" and asserts that "the political persecution against him, his family, and his followers is shameful and disrespectful of Brazil's democratic traditions."
It also reinforces "President Trump's statement" and adds that the embassy is "closely monitoring this situation" and that it "does not comment on future State Department actions regarding specific cases."
The note echoed the tone Trump adopted in messages he posted last Monday and Tuesday night on his Truth Social network.
"I'm going to be very attentive to the WITCH HUNT against Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and thousands of his followers. The only trial that should exist is the trial of the Brazilian voters—it's called an election. LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!" he wrote.
What is Bolsonaro accused of?
Bolsonaro, who governed between 2019 and 2022, when he coincided for two years with Trump's first term, is accused of having planned, together with military chiefs and former ministers, various plans to prevent Lula's inauguration after the progressive leader's victory in the October 2022 elections.
That plot, according to the Prosecutor's Office, led to the January 8, 2023, assault, when thousands of Bolsonaristas vandalized the presidential, parliamentary, and Supreme Court buildings in Brasilia, demanding that the Armed Forces overthrow the new government.
The trial is underway in the Supreme Court, which concluded the preliminary investigation phase last month and is expected to be ready for sentencing between September and October.
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