US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday (30) imposing an additional 40% tariff on products imported from Brazil, raising the total tariff to 50%. According to the White House, the objective is to respond to actions by the Brazilian government that, according to Washington, represent “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.” The official statement was published on the US government website (whitehouse.gov).
The measure is accompanied by a national emergency declaration based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, which allows the US president to impose sanctions against governments considered hostile to US interests.
Accusations Against the Lula Government
According to the document, the Brazilian government has adopted “unusual and extraordinary practices” that harm US companies, limit the freedom of expression of US citizens, and threaten the country’s political and economic interests. The statement directly accuses the Federal Supreme Court (STF), particularly Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of acting authoritarianly against political adversaries.
“Since 2019, Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has abused his judicial authority to threaten, persecute, and intimidate thousands of his political opponents,” states the White House. According to the statement, the magistrate has acted in coordination with other STF members to censor political critics, impose fines, freeze assets of US companies, and threaten executives with criminal proceedings.
The statement specifically mentions the case of Paulo Figueiredo, a US resident who is reportedly facing criminal prosecution in Brazil for demonstrations held on US soil. Additionally, the White House denounces the existence of arrests without trial for social media posts.
Defense of Freedom of Expression
Trump states that he is “defending American companies from extortion, protecting American citizens from political persecution, and saving the American economy from the arbitrary edicts of a tyrannical foreign judge.”
The rhetoric employed reinforces the current US president’s agenda, which has placed the defense of freedom of expression and US economic interests at the center of his foreign policy. “Preserving and protecting the free speech rights of all Americans and defending American companies against forced censorship will remain at the forefront of President Trump’s America First foreign policy strategy,” the text states.
Personal Sanctions Against Moraes and Allies
In addition to the tariff, the White House announced new personal sanctions against Alexandre de Moraes, other STF justices, and their family members. On July 18, Trump ordered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revoke the visas of the justices involved in actions against freedom of expression. The measures are part of a broader policy, initiated in May, that imposes visa restrictions on foreigners who promote censorship of protected speech in the US.
Reactions and Context
Trump’s decision marks a new and serious episode in Brazil-US relations, now under strong political tension. The statement portrays the Brazilian government as authoritarian, allied with censorship and persecutor of political opponents, while reinforcing the defense of freedom of expression as a fundamental American value. The measures also echo Bolsonarista rhetoric and challenge the sovereignty of Brazilian institutions.
There has been no official statement from the Lula government or the STF in response to the accusations made by the White House. The diplomatic escalation is expected to have significant economic and political consequences, potentially triggering multilateral reactions and deepening polarization between the two countries.
Read the full White House statement on the decree:
ADDRESSING A NATIONAL EMERGENCY: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order implementing an additional 40% tariff on Brazil, raising the total tariff to 50%, to deal with recent policies, practices, and actions of the Brazilian government that constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.
• The Order declares a new national emergency using the President’s authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and establishes an additional 40% tariff to address the unusual and extraordinary policies and actions of the Government of Brazil that harm US companies, the free speech rights of US citizens, US foreign policy, and the US economy.
• The Order finds that the politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution by the Government of Brazil against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and thousands of his supporters are grave human rights violations that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil.
USING LEVERAGE TO PROTECT OUR INTERESTS: President Trump has consistently reaffirmed his commitment to defend the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States against foreign threats, including safeguarding free speech, protecting American companies from illegal coercive censorship, and holding human rights violators accountable for their unlawful conduct.
• Recently, members of the Brazilian Government have taken unprecedented measures to tyrannically and arbitrarily coerce American companies to censor political speech, remove users from platforms, hand over sensitive data of American users, or alter their content moderation policies, under threat of extraordinary fines, criminal proceedings, asset freezes, or complete exclusion from the Brazilian market. This harms not only the viability of American companies’ business operations in Brazil but also the United States’ policy of promoting free and fair elections and safeguarding fundamental human rights in the country and abroad.
• For example, since 2019, Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes has abused his judicial authority to threaten, target, and intimidate thousands of his political opponents, protect corrupt allies, and suppress dissent, often in coordination with other Brazilian authorities, including other Supreme Federal Court justices, to the detriment of American companies operating in Brazil.
– Justice Moraes has unilaterally issued hundreds of orders to secretly censor his political critics. When American companies refused to comply with these orders, he imposed substantial fines, ordered the exclusion of companies from Brazil’s social media market, threatened their executives with criminal prosecution, and, in one case, froze the assets of an American company in Brazil in an attempt to coerce compliance.
– Indeed, in addition to imprisoning individuals without trial for social media posts, Justice Moraes is currently overseeing the Brazilian Government’s criminal prosecution of Paulo Figueiredo, a US resident, for speeches he made on US soil, and has supported criminal investigations against other US citizens after they exposed his grave human rights violations and corruption.
• President Trump is defending American companies from extortion, protecting American citizens from political persecution, safeguarding American free speech from censorship, and saving the American economy from being subject to the arbitrary decrees of a tyrannical foreign judge.
PUTTING AMERICA FIRST: By imposing these tariffs to address the reckless actions of the Government of Brazil, President Trump is protecting the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States from a foreign threat. In line with his electoral mandate, President Trump has also taken other measures to achieve peace through strength and ensure that foreign policy reflects US values, sovereignty, and security.
• On day one, President Trump signed an “America First Foreign Policy Directive” for the Secretary of State, declaring that US foreign policy must always put the interests of America and its citizens first.
• In keeping with that directive, on May 28, 2025, Secretary Rubio announced a visa restriction policy targeted at foreigners responsible for censoring protected speech in the United States.
• Pursuant to that policy, on July 18, President Trump ordered Secretary Rubio to revoke visas belonging to Justice Moraes, his allies on the Supreme Court, and his immediate family members for their role in enabling human rights violations against Brazilians and free speech violations against Americans committed by Justice Moraes.
• Preserving and protecting the free speech rights of all Americans and defending American companies from forced censorship will remain at the forefront of President Trump’s America First foreign policy strategy.
• President Trump has successfully used tariffs in the past to advance US interests and address other urgent national security threats, and he is doing so again today.
Source: www.brasil247.com e www.poder360.com.br