Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariff over Bolsonaro trial
Source: BBC | Original Published At: 2025-07-09 21:09:44 UTC
Key Points
- Trump threatens 50% tariffs on Brazil over Bolsonaro trial and tech company censorship
- Brazil's Supreme Court holds social media companies accountable for platform content
- Trump expresses support for Bolsonaro's anti-election prosecution stance
- Lula condemns Trump's 'emperor' approach to international relations
- Trump criticizes BRICS summit as 'anti-American'
Trump, in the letter, accused the Brazilian government of “insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans” including the censorship of “US Social Media platforms”.
Trump’s social media company, Trump Media, is among the US tech companies fighting Brazilian court rulings over orders suspending social media accounts.
The country had also temporarily banned Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, after the platform refused to ban accounts that were deemed by Brazil to be spreading misinformation about the 2022 Brazilian presidential election.
Last month, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that social media companies can be held responsible for content posted on their platforms.
In his letter, Trump also spoke favourably of former Brazilian president Bolsonaro, saying he “respected him greatly”. He added that the ongoing trial against him is “an international disgrace”.
Trump and Bolsonaro enjoyed a friendly relationship when their presidencies overlapped, with the pair meeting in 2019 at the White House during Trump’s first term. Bolsonaro is often dubbed “Trump of the Tropics”.
Both men subsequently lost presidential elections and both refused to publicly acknowledge defeat.
Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, is standing trial for allegedly attempting a coup with thousands of his supporters storming government buildings in the capital in January 2023 after Lula was victorious in the election.
Bolsonaro was in the United States at the time and has denied any links to the rioters or any involvement in the plot.
Earlier this week, Trump had compared Bolsonaro’s prosecution to the legal cases he has similarly faced.
“This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent – Something I know much about!” Trump had said. In response, Bolsonaro thanked the US president for his support.
Trump was also critical of the Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro, where the group of developing nations met on Sunday. Trump called the group, which includes Brazil, “anti-American” and said those countries would be charged an additional 10% tariff.
President Lula fired back on Monday against Trump’s social media threats.
“He needs to know that the world has changed,” Lula said. “We don’t want an emperor.”