[CTC] Citing Bolsonaro, Trump announces 50 percent tariffs, 301 probe for Brazil

[Arthur Stamoulis]

*Note Trump is not only targeting the Bolsonaro stuff, but also Brazil's
digital governance policies...*


*Citing Bolsonaro, Trump announces 50 percent tariffs, 301 probe for Brazil*



By Brett Fortnam, Inside U.S. Trade

 July 9, 2025 at 5:14 PM


The U.S. on Aug. 1 will impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazil due in part to
the government’s treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, President
Trump said on Wednesday.



He also ordered a probe of Brazil's digital trade policies under Section
301 of the Trade Act of 1974.



“I knew and dealt with former President Jair Bolsonaro, and respected him
greatly, as did most other Leaders of Countries,” Trump wrote in a letter
to Brazil’s president posted on his social media site.



The opening language is a stark departure from the template Trump used in
the 21 other tariff letters issued this week. “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,” he added. “This Trial should not be taking place.
It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”



Trump classified the treatment of Bolsonaro – who has been charged with
attempting a coup and undermining the country’s elections and convicted of
abusing his power as president – as “insidious attacks on Free Elections”
and cited that treatment, as well as its social media regulations, as the
reason its goods will face 50 percent tariffs.



Brazil was not one of the nearly five dozen countries the White House
earlier this year tabbed for a country-specific tariff based on goods trade
deficits. The U.S. had a $7.4 billion goods trade surplus with Brazil last
year, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.



The letter then reverts to language used in the previous 21 missives, all
sent to countries with which the U.S. has trade deficits. “[W]e have had
years to discuss our Trading Relationship with Brazil, and have concluded
that we must move away from the longstanding, and very unfair trade
relationship engendered by Brazil’s Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and
Trade Barriers,” the letter continues. “Our relationship has been,
unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”



The 50 percent tariffs are “far less than what is needed to have the Level
Playing Field we must have with your country,” Trump contended. “And it is
necessary to have this to rectify the grave injustices of the current
regime.”



But the letter, contrary to USTR data, claims the U.S. runs a trade deficit
with Brazil.



“Please understand that these tariffs are necessary to correct the many
years of Brazil’s Tariff, and Non-Tariff policies and Trade Barriers,
causing these unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States,” it
says. “This Deficit is a major threat to our Economy and, indeed, our
National Security!”



Trump also said he would instruct USTR Jamieson Greer to launch an
investigation into Brazil’s digital trade activities under Section 301.



USTR’s 2025 National Trade Estimate on Foreign Trade Barriers cites only
two electronic commerce or digital trade barriers for Brazil: Network usage
fees and Brazil's General law for the Protection of Personal Data. But last
month, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that social media companies are liable
for content users post on their sites.



But Brazil, according to U.S. tech groups, is also enacting regulations
similar to the European Union's Digital Markets Act, which has drawn the
ire of the Trump administration.



Trump on Monday said Brazil should “LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE” and described
the former president’s prosecution as a “witch hunt” in a social media post
on Wednesday that reportedly led Brasilia to demand an explanation from the
U.S. charge d’affaires there.



Bolsonaro traveled to Mar-a-Lago in December 2022 after losing his bid for
re-election. His supporters attacked several government buildings days
later as part of a failed coup attempt to re-install Bolsonaro.



Trump on Monday and again on Wednesday also promised to hit BRICS members
or countries aligned with the bloc, which includes Brazil, with additional
10 percent tariffs. -- Brett Fortnam (bfortnam at iwpnews.com)
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