BRASILIA (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order implementing an additional 40 percent tariff on Brazil, bringing the total tariff amount to 50 percent.
Trump said he is imposing this heavy rate of duty 'to deal with recent policies, practices, and actions by the Government of Brazil 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 International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) and establishes an additional 40 percent tariff to address the Government of Brazil's unusual and extraordinary policies and actions harming U.S. companies, the free speech rights of U.S. persons, U.S. foreign policy, and the U.S. economy.
The Order finds that the Government of Brazil's politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and thousands of his supporters are serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil.
In a letter sent to Brazil's president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva earlier this month, Trump had threatened to impose the 50 percent tariff on the Latin American country from August 1 unless the trial against the right-wing former president is suspended.
The White House says that recently, the Brazilian Government has taken actions to coerce U.S. companies to censor political speech, turn over sensitive U.S. user data, or change their content moderation policies, leading to extraordinary fines, criminal prosecution, asset freezes, or complete exclusion from the Brazilian market. This undermines not only the viability of U.S. companies' business operations in Brazil but also the U.S. policy of promoting free and fair elections and safeguarding fundamental human rights at home and abroad.
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