Trump signs executive order to impose 50% tariffs on Brazil
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to impose the 50 percent tariffs he had threatened on Brazil, establishing a legal justification that Brazil's policies and the criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro constitute an economic emergency under a 1977 law.
Trump had threatened the tariffs on July 9 in a letter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. However, the legal basis for that threat was a previous executive order based on trade imbalances. But the United States had a trade surplus of $6.8 billion last year with Brazil, according to the Census Bureau.
A statement from the White House indicated that the judiciary in Brazil had attempted to coerce social media companies and block their users, although it did not name the companies involved, X and Rumble.
Trump seems to identify with Bolsonaro, who tried to overturn the results of his defeat in 2022 against Lula. Similarly, Trump was prosecuted in 2023 for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Also on Wednesday, Trump's Treasury Department announced sanctions against the Supreme Federal Court judge overseeing the case against Bolsonaro.
The sanctions are directed against Judge Alexandre de Moraes, whom Trump's government accuses of suppressing freedom of expression.
De Moraes oversees the criminal case against Bolsonaro, who is accused of orchestrating a plot to stay in power despite his defeat in 2022.
On July 18, the State Department announced visa restrictions for Brazilian judicial officials, including de Moraes. $BTC
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