Trump Imposes Tariffs on Brazil to Prevent His Strongman Buddy Bolsonaro from Being Prosecuted for an Attempted Coup

Jul 09, 2025

Donald Trump’s arbitrary imposition of tariffs is not merely an abuse of his power over the economy. He is also using tariffs in an attempt to interfere in Brazilian politics on behalf of a fellow strongman accused of plotting a coup to stay in power when he was voted out of office in 2022.

CNN reports:

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened Brazil with a crippling tariff of 50% starting August 1, according to a letter he sent to the country’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In the letter posted on Truth Social, Trump alleged Lula is undertaking a “Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!” over charges against its right-wing former president, Jair Bolsonaro. …
Bolsonaro, often dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics,” is on trial in Brazil for charges related to an alleged plot to overturn the 2022 election results. He and dozens of associates have been charged with attempting a coup d’état, which prosecutors allege involved a plan to potentially assassinate elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro’s coup attempt—see an overview of the charges and the evidence—was a clear attempt to copy Donald Trump’s attempted coup on Jan. 6, 2021. Now Trump is returning the compliment by trying to get Bolsonaro off the hook, and perhaps trying to set a precedent for his own future.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

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