President Trump targets Brazilian President Lula Da Silva for harassing Jair Bolsanaro
By Ashok Nilakantan Ayer
New York
July 12, 2025
Just when you thought the Tariff War by Trump had gone silent , it has come back to centre stage with new steep levies on Brazil, Vietnam, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka and some others , all major exporters of goods to the USA.
Trump imposed steep 50% tariffs on Brazil with a rider accusing the local authorities there of unfairly charging his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been charged with attempting a coup. He compared Bolsonaro’s trial to the alleged witch-hunt against him in the US last year before he won the 2024 elections. He said he was watching with interest the criminal witch hunt of Bolsonaro , for which President Luiz Ignacio Lula Da Silva accused him of bullying him and interfering in the sovierignty of the courts.
The 50 percent tariff President Trump proposed for Brazil is by far the highest rate witnessed on a significant trading partner since the 55% imposed on China. The United States imported $42 billio in goods from Brazil last year, including fuel, machinery, metals and aircraft. President Trump dropped the form letter approach that he has used 21 times so far this week and wrote a letter that scolded Brazil’s current government.
President Trump posted letters on social media informing the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Brunei, Libya, Iraq and Algeria that they should prepare for double-digit tariff rates. This means there are now 20 countries whose exports to the United States will be subject to higher tariffs starting on Aug. 1, unless they can broker a trade deal before the new deadline of August 1.
The top U.S. diplomat in Brazil, Gabriel Escobar, was summoned twice by Brazil’s foreign ministry on Wednesday. The first meeting came after the U.S. embassy issued a statement criticizing Brazil’s criminal case against former President Jair Bolsonaro. The second came after President Trump posted a letter to President Lula of Brazil that threatened 50 percent tariffs partly because of the Bolsonaro case, according to a Brazilian government official who was quoted by the US media on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil said in a statement that his country would reciprocate against President Trump’s threatened 50 percent tariffs. “Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not accept being abused by anyone,” he said. He added that the attempted coup charges against the former president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro — which Trump said was partly the basis for the new tariffs — “is the sole responsibility of the Brazilian Judiciary.”
President Trump said that he had ordered U.S. officials to open a trade investigation into Brazil for “continued attacks on the Digital Trade activities of American Companies.” He appeared to be referring to complaints from many on the right that Brazil’s Supreme Court has censored conservative voices online. The Brazilian Supreme Court justice overseeing the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro has also ordered tech companies to take down hundreds of accounts that he said threatened Brazil’s democracy. Mr. Trump’s media company has sued the judge, and Elon Musk at one point refused to comply with his orders, leading to X being temporarily suspended in Brazil.
The quickly escalating dispute has the potential for major economic and political repercussions, especially in Brazil. The United States is Brazil’s second largest trading partner after China. Mr. Trump’s effort to use tariffs to intervene in a criminal trial in a foreign nation is an extraordinary example of how he wields levies as a one-size-fits-all cudgel — and how they can yield economic destruction as a result, political observers said.
Mr. Trump said the United States had a trade deficit with Brazil. For years, the United States has generally maintained a trade surplus with Brazil. The two countries had about $92 billion in trade together last year, with the United States enjoying a $7.4 billion surplus in the relationship. The top products traded are aircraft, oil, machinery and iron. Mr. Trump wrote that the tariffs were also in response to “SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders to U.S. Social Media platforms” and that he had ordered U.S. officials to open a trade investigation into Brazil for “continued attacks on the Digital Trade activities of American Companies.”
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the Brazilian Supreme Court justice, who is overseeing the case against Mr. Bolsonaro, has ordered tech companies to take down hundreds of accounts that he said threatened Brazil’s democracy. His moves have made him a top target of the right in Brazil and the United States. Mr. Lula said on Wednesday that the Supreme Court is enforcing Brazilian law. “In Brazil, freedom of expression is not to be confused with aggression or violent practices,” he said. Brazil’s Supreme Court is widely expected to convict Mr. Bolsonaro later this year, potentially leading to prison time. In January, Mr. Bolsonaro told The New York Times that he hoped Mr. Trump would come to his aid. Since then, Mr. Trump’s media company sued Justice Moraes, accusing him of censoring right-wing voices.
This week Mr. Trump also said that Mr. Bolsonaro should be able to run in Brazil’s presidential election next year. Brazil’s electoral court has ruled him ineligible because of his criticism of Brazil’s election systems. For years Mr. Bolsonaro attacked the reliability of Brazil’s ballot machines, saying that if he lost an election it would be because of fraud from the left. He largely pointed to anomalies that security researchers determined were not fraud.
After he lost the 2022 election, Mr. Bolsonaro questioned the results — despite a review from Brazil’s military that supported them — and looked to Brazil’s Constitution to find ways to prevent Mr. Lula from taking office. That included meeting with military commanders about taking control of the government, which the majority of them refused to do. Federal police have accused Mr. Bolsonaro of being aware of a plot to assassinate Mr. Lula and a Brazilian Supreme Court justice. Mr. Bolsonaro has denied those accusations.
On his social media account, the President posted form letters informing countries — including Philippines, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Brunei, Libya, Iraq and Algeria — that they should prepare for double-digit tariff rates. Except for the name of the country and the tariff rate, the letters were identical to those he posted on Monday, which targeted 14 nations.
