President Donald Trump signed a decree imposing 40 percentage of additional customs duties on Brazilian products on Wednesday July 30 on Brazilian duty, which brings the White House surcharge. The American president had threatened Brasilia, in recent weeks, to impose such a surcharge in retaliation for the prosecution launched against the former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, prosecuted for an attempted coup after his defeat during the presidential election in 2022, a legal action qualified by the American president of “Witch hunt”.
Brazil has already retaliated by signing a decree on July 14, allowing the entry into force of the “Reciprocity law”. This text, voted by the congress in April during the first salvo of taxes decided by the American president, Donald Trump, authorizes the country to suspend the “Commercial concessions, investments and obligations linked to intellectual property rights in response to unilateral actions in countries or economic blocks which negatively affect its international competitiveness”. The law includes in particular the possibility of economic replicas against countries which “Interfere in the legitimate and sovereign choices of Brazil”.
Sanctions against a Supreme Court judge
In parallel with this decree, the US Treasury Department announced on Wednesday a series of sanctions targeting the Brazilian Supreme Court Alexander of Moraes, which Washington accuses of “Arbitrary detentions” and non-compliance with “Freedom of expression”. The treasure considers that Mr. Moraes took advantage of his position to “Target political opponents, including ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, journalists, American social networks and other American and international companies”.
“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 keep responsible those who threaten the American interests and the freedom of our citizens ”said the secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, quoted in a press release.
The Brazilian government qualified, on Wednesday, as“Arbitrary and unjustifiable” The sanctions imposed by the United States on a Supreme Court judge responsible for a trial against ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, ally of Donald Trump. “The arbitrary and unjustifiable application by the United States of economic sanctions (…) Against a member of the national magistracy represents a serious and unacceptable attack against the sovereignty of our country ”wrote on the X Jorge Messias platform, lawyer-general of the Union, responsible for the defense of the legal interests of the Brazilian State.
Firmness of Brazil
These sanctions lead to the freezing of all the assets held by Mr. 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 complete those announced by the State Department on July 18, which were aimed at all the judges of the Supreme Court and their close relatives, who are all 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 to X the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Newsletter
“In the front page”
Each morning, browse most of the news of the day with the last titles of the “world”
Register
Jair Bolsonaro’s trial for an alleged coup attempt against the current left -wing president, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, has to end in the coming weeks. The former head of state (2019-2022) aged 70 years at risk over forty years in prison. In addition to wearing an electronic bracelet, Jair Bolsonaro is forced to stay at home evening and weekend, and is prohibited from using social networks and contacting embassies and foreign authorities.
The Brazilian authorities have 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 blocked X for forty days in Brazil, until the Multimillionaire Elon Musk network complies with orders to delete accounts accused of disseminating info. For the same reasons, he ordered in February the blocking of the Rumble video platform, popular with American conservatives.
