Bolsonaro

WASHINGTON — President Trump said Canada’s announcement that it will recognize a Palestinian state “will make it very hard” for the U.S. to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor.

Trump’s threat, posted in the early hours Thursday on his social media network, is the latest way he has sought to use his trade war to coerce countries on unrelated issues and is a swing from the ambivalence he has expressed about other countries making such a move.

The Republican president said this week that he didn’t mind British Prime Minister Keir Starmer taking a position on the issue of formally recognizing Palestinian statehood. And last week he said that French President Emmanuel Macron’s similar move was “not going to change anything.”

But Trump, who has heckled Canada for months and suggested it should become the 51st U.S. state, indicated on Thursday that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s similar recognition would become leverage ahead of a deadline he set in trade talks.

“Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine,” Trump said in his Truth Social post. “That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!”

Trump has threatened to impose a 35% tariff on Canada if no deal is reached by Friday, when he’s said he will levy tariffs against goods from dozens of countries if they don’t reach agreements with the United States.

Some imports from Canada are still protected by the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is up for renegotiation next year.

Carney’s announcement Wednesday that Canada would recognize a Palestinian state in September comes amid a broader global shift against Israel’s policies in Gaza.

Though Trump this week said he was “not going to take a position” on recognizing a Palestinian state, he later said that such a move would be rewarding Hamas, whose surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel prompted a declaration of war and a massive military retaliation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump’s new cudgel against Canada comes after he moved to impose steep tariffs on Brazil because it indicted its former president Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally who, like the U.S. president, has faced criminal charges for attempting to overturn the results of his election loss.

Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to impose his threatened 50% tariffs on Brazil, setting a legal rationale that Brazil’s policies and criminal prosecution of Bolsonaro constitute an economic emergency under a 1977 law.

Trump had threatened the tariffs July 9 in a letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The legal basis of that threat was an earlier executive order premised on trade imbalances being a threat to the U.S. economy. But the U.S. ran a $6.8-billion trade surplus last year with Brazil, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A statement by the White House said Brazil’s judiciary had tried to coerce social media companies and block their users, though it did not name the companies involved, X and Rumble.

Trump appears to identify with Bolsonaro, who attempted to overturn the results of his 2022 loss to Lula. Similarly, Trump was indicted in 2023 for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The order would apply an additional 40% tariff on the baseline 10% tariff already being levied by Trump. But not all goods imported from Brazil would face the 40% tariff: Civil aircraft and parts, aluminum, tin, wood pulp, energy products and fertilizers are among the products being excluded.

The order said the tariffs would go into effect seven days after its signing on Wednesday.

Also Wednesday, Trump’s Treasury Department announced sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over Bolsonaro’s ongoing trial and alleged suppression of freedom of expression.

Citing a personal grievance in trade talks with Brazil and now Canada’s symbolic announcement on a Palestinian state adds to the jumble of reasons Trump has pointed to for his trade war, such as stopping human trafficking, stopping the flow of fentanyl, balancing the budget and protecting U.S. manufacturing.

Price writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON — President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to impose his threatened 50% tariffs on Brazil, setting a legal rationale that Brazil’s policies and criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro constitute an economic emergency under a 1977 law.

Trump had threatened the tariffs July 9 in a letter to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. But the legal basis of that threat was an earlier executive order premised on trade imbalances being a threat to the U.S. economy. But America ran a $6.8 billion trade surplus last year with Brazil, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A statement by the White House said Brazil’s judiciary had tried to coerce social media companies and block their users, though it did not name the companies involved, X and Rumble.

Trump appears to identify with Bolsonaro, who attempted to overturn the results of his 2022 loss to Lula. Similarly, Trump was indicted in 2023 for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The order would apply an additional 40% tariff on the baseline 10% tariff already being levied by Trump. But not all goods imported from Brazil would face the 40% tariff: Civil aircraft and parts, aluminum, tin, wood pulp, energy products and fertilizers are among the products being excluded.

The order said the tariffs would go into effect seven days after its signing on Wednesday.

Also Wednesday, Trump’s Treasury Department announced sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression and Bolsonaro’s ongoing trial.

De Moraes oversees the criminal case against Bolsonaro, who is accused of masterminding a plot to stay in power despite his 2022 defeat.

On July 18, the State Department announced visa restrictions on Brazilian judicial officials, including de Moraes.

Boak writes for the Associated Press.

RIO DE JANEIRO — The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression and the ongoing trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

De Moraes oversees the criminal case against Bolsonaro, who is accused of masterminding a plot to stay in power despite his 2022 election loss to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“De Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions — including against former President Jair Bolsonaro,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

The Treasury cited the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets perpetrators of human rights abuse and corrupt officials, as its authority to issue the sanctions.

The decision orders the freezing of any assets or property De Moraes may have in the U.S.

Brazil’s Supreme Court and the presidential palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wednesday’s announcement follows the U.S. State Department’s announcement of visa restrictions on Brazilian judicial officials, including De Moraes, on July 18.

It also comes after President Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian imported goods that is set to take effect Friday. In a letter announcing the tariff, Trump explicitly linked the import tax to what he called the “witch hunt” trial of Bolsonaro that is underway in Brazil.

Days later, Bolsonaro was ordered to wear an ankle monitor after being deemed a flight risk.

Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo celebrated the Treasury’s announcement on X, calling it a “historic milestone” and a warning that “abuses of authority now have global consequences.”

Eduardo Bolsonaro relocated to the U.S. in March and is under investigation for allegedly working with U.S. authorities to impose sanctions against Brazilian officials.

Hughes writes for the Associated Press.

July 19 (UPI) — The U.S. visa of the Brazilian judge overseeing the criminal case against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was revoked Friday, four days after President Donald Trump called the South American nation’s treatment of the former leader a “witch hunt.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement on Friday.

“President Trump made clear that his administration will hold accountable foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States,” Rubio said in a statement. “Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s political witch hunt against Jair Bolsonaro created a persecution and censorship complex so sweeping that it not only violates basic rights of Brazilians, but also extends beyond Brazil’s shores to target Americans.

“I have therefore ordered visa revocations for Moraes and his allies on the court, as well as their immediate family members effective immediately.”

The visa restriction policy is pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes the secretary of state to not allow anyone whose entry into the United States “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

Rubio, in a cable to diplomatic and consular posts on Thursday, said public comments on foreign elections “should be brief, focused on congratulating the winning candidate and, when appropriate, noted shared policy interests,” according to The New York Times, which obtained the memo.

De Moraes doesn’t travel often to the United States, The Washington Post reported.

Friday, de Moraes accused Bolsonaro and his son, Eduardo, of conspiring to incite U.S. hostilities against Brazil, ordering the former president to wear an ankle bracelet. Bolsonaro was also barred from contacting foreign governments, and blocked from using social media.

The judge also is investigating online misinformation, and has ordered the takedown of social media accounts that violate Brazil’s freedom of speech. In 2024, Elon Musk’s X restored service in the country after paying a $5 million fine and appointed a new legal representative there.

Trump’s social media company, The Trump Media & Technology Group, sued de Moraes in February, accusing him of censoring conservative voices on social media.

The judge is on the judicial panel to preside over Bolsonaro’s trial before Brazil’s Supreme Court, who was indicted in February after the alleged coup.

Bolsonaro has been accused of attempting to violently to retain power after his 2022 election loss to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula, in a speech Thursday night, condemned Bolsonaro’s supporters, whom he accused of siding with Trump about the “witch hunt.”

“They’re the true traitors of the homeland,” he said. “They don’t care about the economy of the country or the damage caused to our people.”

On Monday, Trump wrote a letter to Lula threatening a 50% tariff on imported goods, because of how Bolsonaro “has been treated” and an “unfair trade relationship.” Unless there is an agreement, the new rate takes effect on Aug. 1, he wrote.

Trump said that “the way 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. The trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY.”

Trump also noted “Brazil’s insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the Fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans.”

Then on Thursday, he posted on Truth Social a letter sent to Bolsonaro about his “terrible treatment you are receiving at the hands of an unjust system turned against you,” demanding an immediate trial.

“It is my sincere hope that the Government of Brazil changes course, stops attacking political opponents, and ends their ridiculous censorship regime. I will be watching closely.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accuses Brazilian Supreme Court judge of creating a ‘persecution, censorship complex’.

Washington will restrict travel visas for Brazilian judicial officials and their immediate family members, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced, over what he called a “political witch-hunt” against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Announcing the move on Friday, Rubio accused Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes of creating a sweeping “persecution and censorship complex” that not only “violates basic rights of Brazilians, but also extends beyond Brazil’s shores to target Americans”.

“I have therefore ordered visa revocations for Moraes and his allies on the court, as well as their immediate family members, effective immediately,” he said, without providing further details on who would be subject to the measures.

Brazilian newspaper O Globo also reported on Friday, without citing its source, that the US has revoked visas from seven more justices of Brazil’s Supreme Court. If accurate, the only Supreme Court judges not impacted would be Bolsonaro-appointed justices Andre Mendonca and Nunes Marques, and Judge Luiz Fux.

The move by the US comes after Brazil’s Supreme Court issued search warrants and restraining orders against Bolsonaro on Friday, banning him from contacting foreign officials amid allegations he courted US President Donald Trump’s interference in court cases against him.

Explaining his decision, Moraes accused Bolsonaro – who was president from 2019 to 2023 – of attacking Brazil’s sovereignty by encouraging the interference of the “head of state of a foreign nation” in its courts.

Bolsonaro’s ongoing trial relates to charges he attempted to carry out a coup and overturn current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s election victory in January 2023. The coup charges carry a 12-year sentence, and if convicted on other counts, Bolsonaro could spend decades behind bars.

Bolsonaro is now banned from contacting foreign officials, using social media or approaching embassies. He was also prohibited from contacting key allies, including his son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian congressman working to drum up support for his father in Washington.

Federal police also raided Bolsonaro’s home and headquarters, with authorities ordering him to wear an ankle monitor following Moraes’s ruling that there is a “concrete possibility” he will attempt to flee the country.

Bolsonaro: ‘Trump of the Tropics’

Speaking to the Reuters news agency at his party’s headquarters on Friday, Bolsonaro called Moraes a “dictator” and described the court orders as acts of “cowardice”.

“I feel supreme humiliation,” he said when asked about wearing the ankle monitor. “I am 70 years old. I was president of the republic for four years,” he added.

On Friday afternoon, a five-judge panel of Supreme Court judges reviewed and upheld Moraes’s decision.

Bolsonaro also said he believed the court orders were a reaction to Trump’s criticism of his trial, in the latest indication that Washington’s interventions may be harming rather than helping the former president.

While Bolsonaro denied he planned to leave the country, he also said he would meet with Trump if his passport, seized by police last year, was returned.

When asked about Bolsonaro’s latest comments, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said the former Brazilian leader and his supporters are “under attack from a weaponised court system”.

Trump has maintained friendly ties with ideological ally Bolsonaro – known as the “Trump of the Tropics” – since the US leader’s first term from 2017 to 2021.

On Thursday, Trump shared a letter on Truth Social he had sent to Bolsonaro lamenting the embattled former president’s “terrible treatment” at the hands of an “unjust system turned against you”.

Earlier this month, Trump also threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods starting August 1, as he called for Lula’s government to drop the charges against Bolsonaro.

Lula promised to reciprocate, saying “any measure to increase tariffs unilaterally will be responded to in light of Brazil’s Law of Economic Reciprocity”.

In Friday’s court decision, Moraes also said Trump’s threatened tariffs were an attempt to interfere in the country’s judicial system by creating a serious economic crisis in Brazil.

The tariffs – which would hurt key Brazilian sectors like coffee farming, cattle ranching and aviation – have rallied public support behind Lula’s defiant leftist government.

July 18 (UPI) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was ordered by his country’s supreme court to wear an ankle monitor, stay home most hours and to stay away from foreign embassies.

He is considered a flight risk after he and his son lobbied President Donald Trump to help him with his legal troubles.

Bolsonaro faces prison time for charges that he attempted a coup after he lost the 2022 election.

Brazilian police now accuse Bolsonaro of working with his son, Brazilian lawmaker Eduardo, to lobby the Trump administration in Washington, D.C., and ask the president to impose sanctions on Brazil. The court told Bolsonaro to cease all communication with Eduardo and stay off social media.

Trump has threatened a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports starting Aug. 1, if they don’t end what he calls a “which hunt” against Bolsonaro.

Brazil president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Brazil will not cede to an American president, whom he says wants to be an “emperor.”

Thursday night, Trump posted online that police should drop the charges against Bolsonaro. This morning, police raided Bolsonaro’s home and office.

In a statement, Bolsonaro’s legal team said it was “surprised and outraged” by the new precautionary measures “despite the fact that he has always complied with all the orders of the judiciary.”

Bolsonaro’s lawyers expressed “surprise and indignation” at what they called “severe precautionary measures imposed against him.”

The court didn’t agree.

“An attempt to subject the functioning of the federal Supreme Court to the scrutiny of another state constitutes an attack on national sovereignty,” Justice Alexandre de Moraes said in his order.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Bolsonaro called the ankle monitor the “ultimate humiliation.” He said he “never thought of fleeing” Brazil. He repeated that the case against him is a politically motivated effort to remove him from the 2026 election. The New York Times reports that some polls suggest he could narrowly win if eligible.

Last week on Truth Social, Trump said that Brazilian authorities have “done nothing but come after [Bolsonaro], day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year!”

“He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE,” he wrote.

Brazilian Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet released a 517-page document on Monday that called for Bolsonaro to be convicted for his alleged crimes. Bolsonaro could spend decades in prison.

“The evidence is clear: the defendant acted systematically, throughout his mandate and after his defeat at the polls, to incite insurrection and the destabilisation of the democratic rule of law,” Gonet said in the document.

While Trump has maintained a close friendship with Bolsonaro, Brazil and the Lula administration don’t speak highly of Trump.

On Thursday Lula said Trump’s tariff threat lacked logic.

“We cannot have President Trump forgetting that he was elected to govern the U.S., not to be the emperor of the world,” he said.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday that he will impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States if President Donald Trump follows through on a pledge to boost import taxes by 50% over the South American country’s criminal trial against his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.

Lula said he will trigger Brazil’s reciprocity law approved by Congress earlier this year if negotiations with the U.S. fail.

“If there’s no negotiation, the reciprocity law will be put to work. If he charges 50 [% tariffs] from us, we will charge 50 from them,” Lula told Record in excerpts of an interview. “Respect is good. I like to offer mine, and I like to receive it.”

Lula’s comments raise the risk of a tariffs war erupting between the two countries, similar to what has happened between the U.S. and China. Trump has vowed to respond forcefully if countries seek to punish the U.S. by adding tariffs of their own.

The tariffs letter that Trump sent to Brazil — and posted on social media Wednesday — railing against the “witch hunt” trial against Bolsonaro opened up a new front in his trade wars, with the U.S. leader directly using import taxes to interfere with another nation’s domestic politics. Trump has already tried to use tariffs to ostensibly combat fentanyl trafficking and as a negotiating tool to change how other nations tax digital services and regulate their economies.

In Brazil’s case, Trump is trying to dictate the outcome of the criminal trial of Bolsonaro, an ally who, like Trump, has been charged with attempting to overturn a presidential election. Bolsonaro maintains that he is being politically persecuted by Brazil’s Supreme Court over his charges on the alleged plot to remain in power after his 2022 election loss to Lula.

“There’s nothing Lula or Brazil can do about Bolsonaro’s trial,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “Any change in that would be Brazil’s capitulation. Bolsonaro’s situation here won’t change. How do you negotiate over that?”

Lula ordered his diplomats on Thursday to return Trump’s letter if it physically arrives at the presidential palace in Brasilia. The document attacks the country’s judiciary and mentions recent rulings on social media companies among the reasons why goods from the South American nation will have higher tariffs from Aug. 1.

Trade negotiations now ‘up in the air’

Trump has initiated his tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, saying in April that the persistent deficit between what the U.S. exports and what it imports is a national crisis.

But the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil, undermining some of the rationale.

A staffer of Brazil’s foreign ministry told the Associated Press that trade negotiations that were ongoing since Trump imposed a first set of tariffs in April are now “up in the air.”

Some members of the Lula administration say Trump’s move is actually aimed at Brazil’s connection with other Southern economies, as displayed on Sunday at the summit of BRICS nations hosted in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil’s president once again mentioned the hope for an alternative currency to the dollar for transactions, a topic that frequently draws Trump’s ire.

“Trump was never worried about democracy anywhere, much less with Bolsonaro’s destiny,” said Gleisi Hoffmann, Brazil’s institutional relations minister. “What he fears is the strengthening of the commercial and financial relations of the global south, which Brazil is helping to build in the BRICS bloc and in other forums. We won’t be Trump’s hostages.”

Brazil’s new unity

Trump’s interference in Brazilian affairs has brought a sense of unity that was largely absent in the politically divided nation. Some of Bolsonaro’s allies claimed Lula had drawn the U.S. president’s anger with other decisions, including criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza. But other supporters of the former president chose to ask for prudence in negotiations.

Daily newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, a frequent critic of Lula and his administration, said in an editorial on Thursday that Trump’s move against the Brazilian government is “a mafia thing.” It also said Lula’s reaction was correct, a rare feature for the newspaper.

“Trump meddles in a degrading form into Brazil’s affairs,” the editorial said. “It is true that Trump has no respect for liturgy and rituals of the relations between States, but even for his standards the letter sent to the Brazilian government crossed every boundary.”

While Trump has talked tough, it has not necessarily produced his desired political outcomes abroad. Canadians recently elected Mark Carney as prime minister, with his Liberal Party reenergized by Trump’s tariffs and threats to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.

Analysts also see Trump’s attempt to interfere in the country’s domestic affairs as a potential backfire for Bolsonaro during his trial and a push for Lula, whose reelection bid was facing unpopularity headwinds this year.

“The reaction of a lot of people is that this is a political gift to Lula,” said Andre Pagliarini, a professor of history and international studies at Louisiana State University who is also affiliated with the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

Thomas Traumann, an independent political consultant and former Brazilian minister, called Trump’s move “a game changer” for next year’s election.

“Trump put Lula back in the game,” Traumann said. “This gives Lula a narrative, puts Bolsonaro as the guilty part for any economic problems.”

Exceeding the authority

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled in May that Trump had exceeded his authority by declaring an emergency to impose tariffs without congressional approval. The Trump administration is appealing that decision, but opponents plan to use his Brazil letter to bolster their case.

“This is a brazenly illegal effort by Donald Trump to sacrifice the economy to settle his own personal scores, and it is far outside his legal authority,” said Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden.

The Republican administration has argued that their tariffs are now relatively harmless for the U.S. economy, since inflation has trended down in recent months. But many companies stockpiled imports to get ahead of the import taxes, and it’s unclear what happens when their inventories dwindle and consumers consider the risk of higher prices. Most outside economic analyses expect growth to decline.

In Brazil, Trump’s interest in Bolsonaro’s trial is expected to weigh over the trial. Media outlets have reported that lawmakers and judges are worried the former president will try to leave Brazil for the U.S. if he is convicted.

“We can’t rule out that Trump will give him some sort of exile later and is hiking tariffs to prepare his excuse,” said Melo, the professor in Sao Paulo. Bolsonaro’s passport was seized by Brazil’s Supreme Court because he is perceived as a flight risk.

Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, a son of the former president, moved to the U.S. in March. On Wednesday night, he asked his supporters on X to post “their thank you to President Donald Trump.”

In Thursday’s interview, Lula said the elder Bolsonaro “should take the responsibility for agreeing with Trump’s taxation to Brazil.”

“His son went there to make up Trump’s mind, then he [Trump] writes a letter to speak about a case that is on the hands of the Supreme Court. A case that is not a political trial. What is under investigation is the evidence of the case,” Lula said.

Savarese and Boak write for the Associated Press. Boak reported from Washington.

July 9 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday informed seven more nations about new tariffs, singling out Brazil with a 50% duty because of what he called the “disgrace” of how former President Jair Bolsonaro has been treated and an “unfair trade relationship.”

Other nations told about rates effective Aug. 1 were the Philippines 20%, Moldova 25% and Brunei 25%, and Algeria, Libya and Iraq at 30% on goods they ship to the United States.

Trump so far has sent letters to 21 nations with seven on Monday. They all had standard language in the two-page letters, except for the one to Brazil.

Trump told current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a letter posted on Truth Social that “the way 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. The trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY.”

Bolsonaro, who faces charges that he plotted to overturn his 2022 election loss against Lula, has been referred to as the “Trump of the tropics.”

Trump also noted “Brazil’s insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the Fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans.”

And he said the United States also is launching an investigation into potential unfair trade practices by Brazil, Trump wrote in the letter.

He said the South American nation’s trade policies have caused “unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States,” which threaten the U.S. economy and national security.

On April 2 on “Liberation Day,” Brazil was among most U.S. trading partners imposed a 10% baseline tariff. Brazil was not among the nations threatened with harsher reciprocal tariffs but on Monday, Trump threatened an additional 10% tariffs on BRICS nations, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa. The other BRICS nations are Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

Tariffs has not sent letters to the BRICS nations except a 30% one for South Africa and 32% for Indonesia.

The U.S. has a goods trade surplus with Brazil of $7.4 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

The United States’ big imports from Brazil include crude petroleum and refined petroleum products, iron and steel, machinery and agricultural products, including fruit and vegetable juices, and meats.

“Please note that the 50% number is far less than what is needed to have the Level Playing Field we must have with your country,” Trump wrote. “And it is necessary to rectify the grave injustices of the current regime. As you are aware, there will be no Tariff if Brazil, or companies within your country, decide to build of manufacture within the United States, and we will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely, in other words, in a matter of weeks.”

On Tuesday, he signed an executive order that officially pushed back the implementation date from July 9 to Aug. 1. He said there will be no more extensions. Trump originally intended the harder penalties to take effect earlier but on April 9 he paused it 90 days.

The new tarriffs, except for Brazil, range from 20% to 40% with the latter imposed on Laos and Myanmar.

Among major trading partners, Japan and Korea were slapped with 25% duties.

The letters state that the 25% tariffs are separate from sector-specific duties on key product categories.

On Tuesday, Trump announced a 50% tariff on imported copper after 50% imposed in June on steel and aluminum.

“These Tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country,” Trump wrote in the letters. “You will never be disappointed with the United States of America.”

Trump has yet to impose new tariffs on the 27-member European Union, but has said negotiations were not going well.

Trump also warned that the rates could be higher if they impose retaliatory duties.

In the latters Trump said there will be no tariff in the nation or the company “decide to build or manufacture product within the United States and, in fact, we will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely.”

U.S. stock indexes rose Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average going up 0.49%, Standard and Poor’s 500 rising 0.61% and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite increasing 0.95%.

Two index are just off record highs Thursday — S&P 16 points and Nasdaq 13 points. DJIA is several hundred points off a record on Dec. 4.

Stock indices in the U.S on Monday each dropped less than 1% after the letters were made public.

US President Donald Trump said he was planning to impose a 50% tax on goods made in Brazil, escalating his fight with the South American country.

He announced the plan in his latest tariff letter, which was shared on social media.

In it, Trump accuses Brazil of “attacks” on US tech companies and of conducting a “witch hunt” against former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing prosecution over his alleged role in a plot to overturn the 2022 election.

Responding in a social media post, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said an increase in tariffs on Brazil would be reciprocated, and he warned against any interference in the nation’s judicial system.

Trump also sparred with Lula about Bolsonaro’s trial earlier this week.

At the time, Lula said Brazil would not accept “interference” from anyone and added: “No one is above the law.”

Also on Wednesday, Trump said a 50% tariff on copper imports, that he announced earlier this week, will come into effect on 1 August.

He said in a social media post that the decision was made due to national security concerns.

Trump has posted 22 letters to countries around the world this week, including trade partners such as Japan, South Korea and Sri Lanka, outlining new tariffs on their goods which he says will come into force on 1 August.

Those moves have largely served to revive plans he had put forward in April, but that were put on hold after financial markets recoiled at the measures.

But the message to Brazil was a far more targeted missive and threatened a significant increase from the 10% tariff the White House had previously announced on goods from the country.

Unlike many other countries, the US enjoyed a trade surplus with Brazil last year, selling more goods in the country than it purchased from it.

In the letter, Trump called the 50% rate “necessary… to rectify the grave injustices of the current regime”.

He said he would order the US Trade Representative to launch a so-called 301 investigation into Brazil’s digital trade practices.

Such a move would mark a turn towards a more established legal process that the US has used to impose tariffs in the past, toughening the threat. In his first term, Trump took a similar step over Brazil’s consideration of a tax targeting tech firms.

Trump, in the letter, accused the Brazilian government of “insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans” including the censorship of “US Social Media platforms”.

Trump’s social media company, Trump Media, is among the US tech companies fighting Brazilian court rulings over orders suspending social media accounts.

The country had also temporarily banned Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, after the platform refused to ban accounts that were deemed by Brazil to be spreading misinformation about the 2022 Brazilian presidential election.

Last month, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that social media companies can be held responsible for content posted on their platforms.

In his letter, Trump also spoke favourably of former Brazilian president Bolsonaro, saying he “respected him greatly”. He added that the ongoing trial against him is “an international disgrace”.

Trump and Bolsonaro enjoyed a friendly relationship when their presidencies overlapped, with the pair meeting in 2019 at the White House during Trump’s first term. Bolsonaro is often dubbed “Trump of the Tropics”.

Both men subsequently lost presidential elections and both refused to publicly acknowledge defeat.

Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, is standing trial for allegedly attempting a coup with thousands of his supporters storming government buildings in the capital in January 2023 after Lula was victorious in the election.

Bolsonaro was in the United States at the time and has denied any links to the rioters or any involvement in the plot.

Earlier this week, Trump had compared Bolsonaro’s prosecution to the legal cases he has similarly faced.

“This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent – Something I know much about!” Trump had said. In response, Bolsonaro thanked the US president for his support.

Trump was also critical of the Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, where the group of developing nations met on Sunday. Trump called the group, which includes Brazil, “anti-American” and said those countries would be charged an additional 10% tariff.

President Lula fired back on Monday against Trump’s social media threats.

“He needs to know that the world has changed,” Lula said. “We don’t want an emperor.”

United States President Donald Trump has taken to social media to defend his fellow right-wing leader, Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president who faces criminal charges for allegedly plotting a coup d’etat.

On Monday, Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Bolsonaro’s indictment was an example of political persecution.

“Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Trump said.

“I have watched, as has the World, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year! He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE.”

Trump went on to compare his own legal troubles to Bolsonaro’s. Both leaders have been accused of trying to undermine their country’s elections, following losses.

In Trump’s case, the accusations concern his 2020 race against Democrat Joe Biden. Though Trump lost, prosecutors say he and his allies conspired to defraud voters by pressuring officials to say that he won. The lie culminated in an attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Trump’s supporters sought to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election results.

Trump later faced a federal indictment in Washington, DC, and a state-level indictment in Georgia over his actions. The federal charges, however, were dropped once he took office for a second term in January.

Bolsonaro, meanwhile, is facing criminal trial for allegedly masterminding a scheme to retain power after his 2022 election loss to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In the lead-up to the election, Bolsonaro spread falsehoods about the accuracy of Brazil’s voting machines, and afterwards refused to publicly concede defeat. Thousands of his supporters likewise stormed government buildings in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, to protest the outcome.

Prosecutors say police unearthed evidence of a scheme wherein Bolsonaro and his allies plotted to hold onto power by means of a coup, one that would have seen Lula and other officials assassinated.

Both Trump and Bolsonaro have denied wrongdoing. In Monday’s posts, Trump said that both of their cases reflected a politically motivated “WITCH HUNT” designed to dim their popularity among voters.

“This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent – Something I know much about! It happened to me, times 10,” Trump wrote. “The Great People of Brazil will not stand for what they are doing to their former President.”

He appeared to end his post with a call for Bolsonaro’s re-election: “The only Trial that should be happening is a Trial by the Voters of Brazil – It’s called an Election. LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!”

Bolsonaro, however, has been barred from running for office for eight years, a period which expires in 2030. Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court issued the punishment in a separate case in 2023 after it found Bolsonaro had abused his power by using government offices to spread doubt about the country’s voting machines.

Trump and Bolsonaro have long faced comparisons with one another. They both took office for a first term in 2017, and both lost their initial re-election attempt. Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has been referred to as the “Trump of the tropics”.

Critics have long speculated that Trump may seek to intervene in Brazil’s prosecution of the far-right leader through political pressure.

Earlier this year, for example, the Trump Media and Technology Group joined a lawsuit in Florida against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, arguing that a recent decision from the judge amounted to the censorship of right-wing voices.

De Moraes has overseen the criminal case against Bolsonaro and is considered a target of ire for Brazil’s right.

In a social media response on Monday, President Lula indicated that Trump’s social media missive could be viewed as an attempt to interfere with the Brazilian justice system.

Though he mentioned neither Trump nor Bolsonaro by name, Lula, a left-wing leader, rejected the advice of those who sought to influence the ongoing trial from abroad.

“The defence of democracy in Brazil is a matter for Brazilians to deal with. We are a sovereign country. We do not accept interference or tutelage from anyone,” Lula wrote. “We have solid and independent institutions. No one is above the law. Especially those who threaten freedom and the rule of law.”

Bolsonaro, on the other hand, took to social media to thank Trump explicitly for his words of support.

“I thank the illustrious President and friend. You went through something similar. You were relentlessly persecuted, but you won for the good of the United States and dozens of other truly democratic countries,” Bolsonaro wrote, reflecting on how “happy” he was to see Trump’s note.

Bolsonaro used the occasion to once again proclaim his innocence and blast his political opponents as puppeteering the trial.

“This process to which I am responding is a legal aberration (Lawfare), clear political persecution,” he said.

The former president could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

Legal woes hang over the former president, who has called for several demonstrations in support of himself in recent months.

Facing serious legal jeopardy with potentially years of incarceration over an alleged coup plot being tried by the nation’s Supreme Court, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has attended a protest by his supporters.

Around 2,000 people attended the rally on Sunday in Sao Paolo.

On Saturday night, the far-right ex-leader told his followers on the AuriVerde Brasil YouTube channel that “Brazil needs all of us. It’s for freedom, for justice”. He urged supporters to march through Sao Paulo’s Paulista Avenue on Sunday.

“This is a call for us to show strength … this massive presence will give us courage,” he declared.

In February, Bolsonaro, 70, who led the country from 2019 to 2022, was charged with five counts of planning to remain in power and overturn the 2022 election result, which current president, the left-wing Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, won. Thirty-three of Bolsonaro’s closest allies were also charged.

Earlier this month, Bolsonaro testified for the first time before the nation’s Supreme Court, denying any involvement in the alleged coup plot.

The Supreme Court headquarters in Brasilia was one of the targets of a rioting mob known as “Bolsonaristas” – who raided government buildings in January 2023 as they urged the military to oust President Lula, an insurrection attempt that evoked the supporters of Bolsonaro ally United States President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.

Police have referred to the demonstration as an uprising and an attempt to force military intervention and depose Lula.

Bolsonaro claims that the various cases against him are politically motivated, aimed at preventing him from making a comeback in the 2026 elections.

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court ruled last year that due to an abuse of Bolsonaro’s political power and his baseless claims about the country’s electronic voting system, he would be banned from holding office until 2030.

‘An abominable thing’

Earlier this month, at Bolsonaro’s first testimony at the Supreme Court, the former president denied that there was a coup attempt.

“There was never any talk of a coup. A coup is an abominable thing,” Bolsonaro said.

“Brazil couldn’t go through an experience like that. And there was never even the possibility of a coup in my government.”

Bolsonaro was abroad in Florida in the US at the time of this last-gasp effort to keep him in power after the alleged coup planning fizzled. But his opponents have accused him of fomenting the rioting.

At the same time, Brazilian police have called for Bolsonaro to be separately charged with illegal espionage while president.

According to legal experts, the sentencing part of the coup plot case is expected in the second half of the year. If convicted, Bolsonaro could face up to 12 years in prison.

During his legal troubles, the former president has called for several protests, but his appearances at them have declined in recent months, as have the crowds.

According to estimates by the University of Sao Paulo, about 45,000 people took part in the most recent march on Paulista Avenue in April, almost four times fewer than in February.

Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, a former Bolsonaro minister, is a top candidate to represent the conservatives in the 2026 presidential election.

The far-right former president is accused of using Brazil’s intelligence agency to conduct illegal spying.

Brazil’s federal police have formally accused far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro of involvement in an illegal spying network that allegedly snooped on political rivals, journalists and environmentalists during his administration.

Court records allege that under one of Bolsonaro’s aides, Brazil’s spy agency, Agencia Brasileira de Inteligencia (ABIN), ran a “criminal organisation of high offensive capability” from 2019 to 2023, local media reported Tuesday.

According to the police, ABIN used a software called FirstMile, developed by the Israeli company Cognyte.

A Supreme Court document contains the names of several Brazilian public figures who were targets of the snooping operation, including Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, former Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, and the current head of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies or lower house, Arthur Lira.

The agency was also used to illegally spy on tax auditors who were investigating the president’s eldest son, Flavio Bolsonaro, according to prosecutors. The intention was to find dirt on them to halt a corruption probe from when the younger Bolsonaro was a Rio de Janeiro councilman.

Names of senior officials from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) were also on the list. As president, Bolsonaro cut the budget of IBAMA by 30 percent between 2019 and 2020, while also cutting funding for other environmental agencies. When he was in office, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon surged, and Bolsonaro was accused of facilitating this destruction.

Journalists Monica Bergamo of Folha de S Paulo newspaper and Vera Magalhaes of O Globo newspaper were also targeted, the document alleges.

The allegations add to a slew of probes against Bolsonaro, who was rendered ineligible to run for office in 2030 after a failed 2022 re-election campaign. He is also embroiled in a jewellery embezzlement case as well as a case pertaining to him forging his COVID-19 vaccine records.

Last week, Bolsonaro appeared before the Supreme Court for the first time and denied participation in an alleged plot to remain in power and overturn the 2022 election result that he lost to current left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The Supreme Court headquarters in Brasilia was one of the primary targets of a rioting mob of supporters known as “Bolsonaristas”, who raided government buildings in January 2023 as they urged the military to oust Lula, an insurrection attempt that evoked the supporters of Bolsonaro ally United States President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.

Bolsonaro was abroad in Florida in the US at the time of this last-gasp effort to keep him in power after the alleged coup planning fizzled. But his opponents have accused him of fomenting the rioting. Bolsonaro said in his testimony that the rioters were “crazy,” not coup mongers.

“There was never any talk of a coup. A coup is an abominable thing,” Bolsonaro said. “Brazil couldn’t go through an experience like that. And there was never even the possibility of a coup in my government.”

The far-right politician admitted to discussing “possibilities” with the heads of the armed forces following his defeat to Lula, but argued that it had been within constitutional limits.

A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years in Brazil. A conviction on that and other charges could bring decades behind bars. The former president has repeatedly denied the allegations and asserted that he is the target of political persecution.

June 13 (UPI) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is in the final stage of a historic trial before Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court over his alleged role in an attempted coup following his 2022 election loss.

The trial, now in its final phase of evidence collection, will determine Bolsonaro’s legal fate and could end his political aspirations to reclaim the presidency.

Since mid-May, Bolsonaro and several former aides have faced legal proceedings unprecedented in Brazil’s recent history. On Tuesday, Bolsonaro appeared in court to respond to the charges.

Prosecutors accuse Bolsonaro of plotting to overturn the 2022 election results to stay in power. He faces charges of rebellion and attempting a coup. Local news media report he could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

During the hearing, Bolsonaro apologized to Justice Alexandre de Moraes and other members of the court for previously alleging election fraud, admitting he had no evidence. At one point, Bolsonaro even asked De Moraes if he would consider being his running mate in 2026 — the justice replied, “I reject the offer.”

Bolsonaro admitted discussing with advisers and military leaders the possibility of finding a “legal mechanism” to overturn Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s election victory, but insisted, “There was never a possibility of a coup in my government.”

That statement, though defiant, could alienate parts of Bolsonaro’s base who continue to defend the Jan. 8, 2023, rioters, said Bruno Pazos Barboz, a professor at the Social Observatory of Rio.

On that day, thousands of radical Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in Brasília — just one week after Lula took office — vandalizing property and stealing documents and official government symbols.

“This trial, which has drawn both national and international attention, is not only about individual accountability,” Pazos said. “It’s also a test of the strength of Brazil’s democratic institutions. That’s why what’s happening — and how it ends — is so important.”

Bolsonaro is already barred from holding public office until 2030 by the Superior Electoral Court, due to his baseless attacks on the country’s electronic voting system. A conviction in the current case could result in prison time and further extend that ban, effectively ending his short-term presidential ambitions.

Despite the charges, some of his supporters and political analysts have not ruled out his return.

A Genial/Quaest poll conducted between May and June 2025 found that 65% of Brazilians believe Bolsonaro should drop out of the 2026 presidential race and allow another right-wing candidate to take his place, The Rio Times reported — signaling broad rejection beyond his core base of supporters.

Still, “Bolsonarismo” remains active, said Pazos Barboz. The movement holds significant influence in Congress and maintains a loyal base that continues to mobilize periodically. Its rhetoric often centers on themes of “victimization” and claims of “political persecution.”

Two additional factors continue to sustain Bolsonarismo. One is the growth of Brazil’s Protestant evangelical population, a demographic traditionally aligned with Bolsonaro and estimated at about 50 million people. The other is the lack of a unifying leader capable of bringing together the country’s right-wing parties — a gap that could reshape the 2026 electoral landscape.

If convicted, Bolsonaro could appeal to the same court and possibly to the full bench. The entire legal process — including trial and appeals — could extend into late 2025 or early 2026.

Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, testifying for the first time before the nation’s Supreme Court, has denied involvement in an alleged coup plot to remain in power and overturn the 2022 election result that he lost to current leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro, 70, and seven of his close allies were questioned by a panel of top judges on Tuesday as part of a trial over allegations that they devised a multi-step scheme to keep Bolsonaro in office despite his defeat to Lula.

Bolsonaro and his co-defendants risk prison sentences of up to 40 years in a trial dubbed “historic” – the first ever for an attempted coup under a democratic government in Brazil.

“That’s not the case, your honour,” Bolsonaro replied on Tuesday when asked by Judge Alexandre de Moraes – an arch political foe – about “the truthfulness” of the accusations against him.

“There was never any talk of a coup. A coup is an abominable thing … Brazil couldn’t go through an experience like that. And there was never even the possibility of a coup in my government,” Bolsonaro claimed.

Bolsonaro began his testimony “as if he were on an electoral campaign,” said Al Jazeera’s Monica Yanakiew, reporting from Rio de Janeiro.

The plot only failed, the charge sheet says, due to a clear lack of military backing.

Bolsonaro, a former military officer himself who has been known to express nostalgia for the country’s past military dictatorship, openly defied Brazil’s judicial system during his 2019-2022 term in office.

On Monday, Bolsonaro’s former right-hand man Mauro Cid – a co-defendant who has turned state’s witness – told the court Bolsonaro had “received and read” a draft decree for the declaration of a state of emergency.

He then “edited” the document, which would have paved the way for measures to “redo the election” and also envisaged the imprisonment of top personalities including Moraes, said Cid.

Cid also testified that he had received cash in a wine crate from Bolsonaro’s former running mate and Defence Minister Walter Braga Netto that investigators say was earmarked to finance an operation by special troops to kill Lula, his Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Moraes.

‘My conscience is clear’

Apart from Cid, the other co-defendants are four ex-ministers and the former heads of Brazil’s navy and intelligence agency.

Most who have taken the stand so far have rejected the bulk of the accusations in the charge sheet. The defendants are standing trial on five counts: attempting to stage a coup, involvement in an armed criminal organisation, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, aggravated damage and deterioration of listed heritage.

A coup conviction carries a sentence of up to 12 years. When combined with the other charges, the accused could be sentenced to up to 40 years behind bars.

Two former army commanders have claimed Bolsonaro hosted a meeting where the declaration of a state of emergency was discussed as a means of overturning Lula’s election victory.

Bolsonaro has denied all the charges, saying he is the target of political and media persecution.

“He said he was being persecuted by the press because he was elected independently of a political establishment and also because he had a conservative agenda, an anti-woke agenda,” said Yanakiew.

He has already been banned in a separate court ruling from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system. However, he is still hoping to run in the 2026 presidential elections.

“They have nothing to convict me; my conscience is clear,” the former leader told reporters on Monday.

Almir Garnier, who was Brazilian Navy commander under Bolsonaro, denied the former president had discussed the declaration of a state of emergency with military officials.

He also denied offering Bolsonaro any Navy troops.

The Supreme Court headquarters in Brasilia was one of the targets of a rioting mob of supporters known as “Bolsonaristas” – who raided government buildings in January 2023 as they urged the military to oust Lula, an insurrection attempt that evoked the supporters of Bolsonaro ally United States President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.

Bolsonaro was abroad in Florida at the time of this last-gasp effort to keep him in power after the alleged coup planning fizzled. But his opponents have accused him of fomenting the rioting.

Judges will hear from 26 other defendants at a later date. The court has already heard from dozens of witnesses in hearings that began in mid-May.

More than 80 witnesses are expected to testify via videoconference over the next two weeks.

The trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has begun, with charges that he plotted a coup d’etat and led a “criminal organisation” to overturn the result of the October 2022 election, in which he was narrowly defeated by current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The country’s Supreme Court is hearing testimony from high-ranking military and political figures from Monday over the next two weeks.

The 70-year-old far-right leader, a former army captain, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022, could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

Bolsonaro denies the allegations, claiming he is a victim of “political persecution”.

More than 80 witnesses are set to testify via videoconference, including Generals Marco Antonio Freire Gomes and Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, who served as commanders of the army and air force under Bolsonaro.

In previous statements to federal police, both men said Bolsonaro had “raised the hypothetical possibility” of using legal means to annul the 2022 election and justify a military intervention.

According to prosecutors, the alleged plot included plans to declare a state of emergency, hold new elections and assassinate President Lula.

A 900-page federal police report details the scheme, which prosecutors say ultimately collapsed due to a lack of support within the military.

The charges also encompass the January 8, 2023 riots in Brasília, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace one week after Lula’s inauguration.

Though Bolsonaro, a close ally of United States President Donald Trump when they were both in power, was in the US at the time, prosecutors argue he backed the violence, calling it the “last hope” of those seeking to overturn the election.

Seven of Bolsonaro’s former aides are being tried alongside him, including four former ministers, a former navy commander, and the head of Brazil’s intelligence services during his presidency.

This marks the first time a Brazilian president has faced coup charges since the end of the military dictatorship in 1985.

Bolsonaro, who has often expressed admiration for that era, is already banned from holding public office until 2030 after making claims about Brazil’s electronic voting system.

Despite the ban, Bolsonaro has indicated a desire to return to politics. But speaking to UOL last week, he likened the charges to a “telenovela scenario” and warned that a conviction would be a “death penalty, political and physical”.

Bolsonaro was heavily criticised when he was Brazil’s leader during the COVID-19 pandemic and when his policies and spread of misinformation contributed to the nation having the highest overall death toll in Latin America, and the second highest in the world after the US, from the coronavirus.

Earlier this month, he was recently discharged from hospital after undergoing major abdominal surgery, the latest in a series of procedures stemming from a stabbing attack in 2018.