SAEDNEWS: Former U.S. President Donald Trump has issued an extraordinary threat to Brazil, vowing to impose a 50% tariff on imports if his political ally Jair Bolsonaro faces prosecution—turning a foreign judicial matter into a new front in Trump’s populist campaign.
According to Saed News, citing NBC News, Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at the Brazilian government, threatening to slap the country with a sweeping 50% tariff on imports if former president Jair Bolsonaro is prosecuted. Trump’s statement, posted on his social media platform Truth Social, directly targeted Brazil’s current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and accused him of overseeing what Trump called “an international disgrace.”
“The way Brazil is treating former President Bolsonaro, a great man and a patriot, is a scandal,” Trump wrote. “This trial should not be happening.”
Trump has long championed Bolsonaro, often referred to as the “Trump of the Tropics,” and has dismissed accusations against him, including allegations that Bolsonaro conspired to overturn the results of Brazil’s 2022 presidential election.
But Trump's criticism didn’t stop there. He accused the Brazilian government of orchestrating “subtle attacks on free elections and American freedom of speech,” claiming it played a role in censoring U.S. social media platforms. His comment appears to reference a recent ruling by Brazil’s Supreme Court that holds social media companies legally accountable for content published on their platforms. The decision has caused friction with tech giants, including Elon Musk’s platform X, which faced a temporary ban in Brazil after refusing to block certain accounts under court orders.
“This is not just about Brazil’s internal politics,” Trump added. “It’s about freedom everywhere, including the U.S.”
In a broader justification for punitive economic measures, Trump also cited what he described as a “deeply unfair and one-sided” trade relationship with Brazil. “We’ve had years of opportunity to rebalance our trade with Brazil, but instead we’ve allowed tariff barriers and non-tariff obstacles to stack up against us,” he claimed.
Interestingly, Trump’s assertion of an “unbearable trade deficit” with Brazil contradicts official data: the U.S. actually recorded a $7 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year.
Nonetheless, Trump’s tariff threat—if he returns to the presidency in 2025—would mark a dramatic escalation of U.S.-Brazil relations and represents a rare instance of an American political figure threatening economic retaliation over the legal prosecution of a foreign leader.
Analysts suggest this is not just economic posturing but part of Trump’s ongoing attempt to position himself as the global protector of nationalist leaders and an opponent of progressive and judicial institutions that challenge their authority.
Whether the Biden administration or Lula’s government will formally respond remains unclear, but Trump’s latest move again shows his willingness to mix diplomacy, populism, and personal loyalty in explosive fashion.
