President Donald Trump signed a decree imposing 40 percentage points (PP) of additional customs duties on Brazilian products on Wednesday, which brings the White House on Brazilian products, the White House announced.
The US government also strengthened its pressure on Brazil on Wednesday, supporting ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, announcing new sanctions against the Supreme Court Alexandre de Moraes.
The first blow came from the Treasury Department, with sanctions targeting Mr. De Moraes, which Washington accuses of “arbitrary detentions” and non-compliance with “freedom of expression”.
The Treasury believes that the judge took advantage of his position to “target political opponents, including ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, journalists, American social networks and other American and international companies”.
The American president, Donald Trump, also signed a decree imposing 50% of customs from Brazilian products on Wednesday, with the exception of planes, orange juice, Brazil nuts, and certain iron, steel or aluminum products.
According to the decree, the surcharge, which will come into force from August 6, is justified by “the unusual and extraordinary threat that Brazil constitutes for national security, the economy and foreign policy of the United States”.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva retaliated, committing on Wednesday to defend the sovereignty of his country against the decision of the American president.
This day is a “sacred day of sovereignty,” he said during an official ceremony in Brasilia, promising to “defend (…) the sovereignty of the Brazilian people in the face of the measures announced by the President of the United States”.
On Wednesday, Juanita Goebertus, the director for the Americas of Human Rights Watch, an international human rights organization, said that the customs of customs and sanctions imposed by the United States in Brazil constituted a “blatant violation of the judicial independence” of the country.
“Witch hunt”
“Alexandre de Moraes granted himself the right to be a judge and jury to orchestrate an illegal witch hunt against citizens and American and Brazilian companies. The sanctions of this day recall that the Treasury will hold those who threaten the American interests and the freedom of our citizens,” said the secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, quoted in a statement.
The former Brazilian president, ally of Donald Trump, is prosecuted in his country for an alleged attempt at a coup after his defeat during the 2022 election.
These sanctions lead to the freezing of all the assets held by Mr. De Moraes in the United States as well as the ban for citizens or American companies to do business with the Brazilian judge, under penalty of prosecution.
They complement those announced by the State Department on July 18, who aimed at all the judges of the Supreme Court and their close relatives, who are all now prohibited from entering the United States.
“That this serves as a warning to those who would like to flout the rights of their fellow citizens. A judge dress cannot protect you,” reacted on X Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
The Brazilian government has described these sanctions as “arbitrary” and “unjustifiable”, and sees it as “a serious and unacceptable attack on sovereignty” in Brazil, according to a statement from the Brazilian Agency for the Legal Defense of the State (AGU).
The minister in charge of institutional relations in Brazil, Gleisi Hoffmann, expressed the “total rejection of the Lula government” towards these sanctions.
“Very grateful”
But Washington did not stop there, to fight against what Donald Trump presents as a “witch hunt” against his extreme right ally.
After having threatened Brasilia for several days of 50% of customs surchasters in Comté on August 1, the American president finally signed, a little later in the day, a decree in this sense.
According to the decree, published on the White House site, the surcharge, which will come into force from August 6, is justified by “the unusual and extraordinary threat that Brazil constitutes for national security, the economy and foreign policy of the United States”,
Building on this American support, the son of the former president, Eduardo Bolsonaro, said he was “very grateful”, calling “the other leaders of the free world to unite in the United States”.
Jair Bolsonaro’s trial for an alleged coup attempt against the current left -wing president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva must end in the coming weeks. The former head of state (2019-2022), 70 years old, risks more than 40 years in prison.
In addition to wearing an electronic bracelet, Jair Bolsonaro is forced to stay at home evening and weekend, and prohibits using social networks and contacting Embassies and Foreign Authorities.
The Brazilian authorities have also adopted a very firm posture concerning the fight against disinformation, the Supreme Court having hardened in June 2024 the regulation of social networks.
Judge Moraes had blocked for 40 days X in Brazil, until the Multimillionaire Elon Musk network complies with the orders of deleting accounts accused of disseminating info.
For the same reasons, he ordered in February the blocking of the Rumble video platform, popular with American conservatives.
This article was published automatically. Sources: ATS / AFP
