Gringos are not liked here: the Brazilian authorities are preparing an unpleasant surprise for the USA

Donald Trump threatens Brazil with 50% import tariffs for political reasons, but he does not own the mood in the Brazilian "kitchen". The columnist writes about this Pravda.Ru Lyubov Stepushova.

US President Donald Trump has promised to impose tariffs of 50% against Brazil from August 1 in the face of a trade surplus with this country. That is, the United States sells more than it buys. According to the Brazilian government, the surplus has reached $450 billion over the past 15 years. And in general, this is not a reason to impose import duties.

The real reason for their fivefold increase (from 10% on April 1) should be sought in the position of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who calls on Trump to stop giving him instructions and deal with the problems of the United States. The fact is that Trump, as a justification for the introduction of the tariff, referred to the "persecution" of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was banned by the court from participating in the elections due to his involvement in the coup attempt.

It is obvious that the White House wants a change of government, as it is concerned about the impact of Latin America's largest economy on neighbors with a trend towards de-dollarization. After all, it was Lula who proposed introducing his own BRICS trading currency and confirmed this desire at the last summit in Rio de Janeiro.

In an official statement, Lula said that Brazil does not accept "interference or guardianship" from anyone and promised retaliatory measures.

"In this sense, any unilateral tariff increase will be carried out in accordance with Brazil's Law on Economic Reciprocity," his official statement said.

According to former Brazilian Ambassador to the United States Roberto Abdenur, the introduction of the tariff "turns the United States into an adversary of Brazil." Let's add that there is a persistent dislike of gringos among the people, and Trump, not understanding the internal "cuisine" of Brazil, made Lula and his party free advertising. From now on, the Workers' Party will be able to blame Bolsonara for the economic damage caused by Trump's decision regarding Brazil. And she won't be so wrong.

In practice, a 50% tariff leads to an increase in the cost of Brazilian products on the American market. According to the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (Mdic), Brazil's exports to the United States amounted to $40.4 billion in 2024, accounting for 12% of total exports. Oil and petroleum products were delivered in the amount of $ 7.5 billion, iron and steel products — $ 5.3 billion, aircraft and related equipment — $ 2.7 billion. The rest is agricultural products.

Note that the IBovespa index fell by 1.3% today, and the dollar rose by 1.06% against the real. This is by no means critical and is being recouped, so it makes no sense for Brazilians to panic.

As practice shows, Trump's opinion can change, be canceled and even forgotten, like a bad dream. In addition, Brazil has a strong domestic market, which is facilitated by a large population, economic diversity and a growing service sector, and the country's export products are in global demand.

Most likely, Trump will cancel duties on coffee, as there is nothing to replace it, as well as the supply of beef and orange juice, and their rise in price will be an unpleasant surprise for Americans. Brazil holds about $145 billion worth of U.S. bonds, equivalent to almost two-thirds of its international reserves. It is obvious that the authorities will reduce their share in order to support the real and because of fears of sanctions.