Trump slams Brazil over social media censorship, slaps 50% tariff on imports
By lauraharris // 2025-07-15
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  • President Donald Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on all Brazilian imports starting Aug. 1, citing unfair trade practices and censorship concerns.
  • Trump accused Brazil's Supreme Court, particularly Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of issuing secret and unlawful censorship orders to U.S. social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Rumble.
  • He framed the tariffs as a defense of American free speech and electoral integrity, saying Brazil's actions threaten U.S. democratic values.
  • Trump linked the tariff decision to the ongoing trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, calling it a "witch hunt" and an "international disgrace."
  • Trump compared Bolsonaro's prosecution to his own legal troubles, portraying both as politically motivated attacks on populist leaders.
President Donald J. Trump has announced a 50 percent new trade penalty against Brazil in retaliation for its "secret and unlawful censorship orders" targeting American social media platforms. In a formal letter dated July 9 and addressed to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Trump condemned Brazil's crackdown on platforms like Rumble and X (formerly Twitter), linking it to "insidious attacks on free elections" and "fundamental free speech rights of Americans." (Related: Canada refuses to lift tariffs despite Trump's postponement.) Citing censorship demands issued by Brazil's Supreme Court, particularly Justice Alexandre de Moraes, Trump announced that beginning Aug. 1, the U.S. will impose a 50 percent tariff on all Brazilian imports, in addition to existing sectoral tariffs. Goods rerouted through third countries to evade the measure, he warned, would still face the same penalty. "Due in part to Brazil's insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans (as lately illustrated by the Brazilian Supreme Court, which has issued hundreds of SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders to U.S. Social Media Platforms, threatening them with millions of dollars in fines and eviction from the Brazilian social media market), starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge Brazil a tariff of 50 percent on any and all Brazilian products sent into the United States, separate from all sectoral tariffs," Trump wrote. "In addition, we have had years to discuss our Trading Relationship with Brazil, and have concluded that we must move away from the longstanding and very unfair trade relationship engendered by Brazil's Tariff and Non-Tariff Policies and Trade Barriers. Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal."

Trump calls prosecution of Bolsonaro a "witch hunt" and "international disgrace"

Aside from secretly and unlawfully targeting social media platforms, Trump also revealed in the letter that the tariff hike is also a retaliatory measure against the politically motivated "witch hunt" trial against his longtime ally, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. "The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the world during his term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace," Trump wrote. "This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!" Bolsonaro, who lost the 2022 election to Lula, is currently standing trial before Brazil's Supreme Court over accusations he conspired to overturn the election results and cling to power. He testified in June as part of the investigation. Brazil's electoral court previously ruled him ineligible to run for office until 2030. Trump, who has faced multiple legal battles of his own, has frequently criticized the treatment of conservative leaders worldwide and has openly defended Bolsonaro on several occasions. The two met at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in 2020 and have maintained public expressions of support. The president did not mince words about the broader attack on democracy. "I have watched, as has the World, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year! He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE. This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a political opponent – something I know much about! It happened to me, times 10," Trump wrote in a separate post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, July 7. Follow Trump.news for the latest updates, exclusive insights and in-depth coverage on this topic and similar stories. Watch Tom Philipson and Steve Moore explain that President Donald Trump uses tariffs effectively in this clip.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

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Sources include: ReclaimtheNet.org MSN.com NBCNews.com Brighteon.com
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