Trump’s Brazilian tariffs threaten to surge US coffee prices
The 50% tariff on Brazilian imports proposed by US President Donald Trump could raise coffee prices sharply on us, potentially colliding with both roasters and consumers.
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BRASILIA, Aug. 4 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Supreme Court arrested former President Jer Bolsonaro on Monday ahead of a trial on a coup program that poses a alleged trial, despite escalating tariffs and sanctions from President Donald Trump.
Last week, Supreme Court Judge Alexandre des Moraise, the target of US Treasury sanctions, issued an arrest order against Bolsonaro. His decision cited his failure to comply with the restraining orders he imposed on Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro is on trial in the Supreme Court for accusations of conspiring with his allies to vigorously overturn the losses of the 2022 election on leftists Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Trump calls the incident a “witch hunt,” and is called the basis for a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods, which is in effect Wednesday.
The US State Department condemned the House’s arrest order, saying that Moraz is using Brazilian agencies to silence opposition and threaten democracy, adding that the US is “being responsible for all the aid and authorized acts that are be blamed.”
Trump said the US could impose even higher tariffs on Brazilian imports, but that did not provide details.
Monday’s order from Moraes banned Bolsonaro from using his mobile phone or receiving visits.
Bolsonaro’s news agency confirmed he was placed under house arrest at his Brasilia residence on Monday evening by police who seized his cell phone.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers said in a statement that he would appeal the decision, claiming that the former president did not violate the court order.
In an interview with Reuters last month, Bolsonaro called Moraes a “dictator” and said the restraining order against him was an act of “co-disease.”
Some Bolsonaro allies are worried that Trump’s tactics may be backfire in Brazil, exacerbating Bolsonaro’s troubles and garnering public support behind Lula’s left-wing government.
But Sunday’s demonstrations by Bolsonaro supporters, the month’s biggest supporters, show that Trump’s tyrades and sanctions against Moraes have fired the political foundations of the far-right former military captain.
Bolsonaro effectively appeared in protest in Rio de Janeiro by calling his son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
Moraz said the former president repeatedly tried to bypass court orders.
“Justice is blind, but not stupid,” Justice wrote in his decision.
On Monday, Senator Bolsonaro told CNN Brazil that Monday’s order from Moraes was a “clear display of vengeance” for US sanctions on judges, adding, “I hope that the Supreme Court can put the brakes on this person (Moraz).”
Judges’ orders, including restraining orders based on arrest penalties, are upheld by the wider courts.
These orders and the massive lawsuit before the Supreme Court came after a two-year investigation into Bolsonaro’s role in the election denial movement, which was led to riots by his supporters who rocked Brasilia in January 2023.
In contrast to the tangled criminal cases that have been stagnant primarily against Trump, Brazilian courts have moved swiftly against Bolsonaro, ending his political career and threatening to destroy his right-wing movement. The election court has already banned Bolsonaro from running for public office until 2030.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Brazilian lawmaker Bolsonaro, moved to the United States at the same time that the former president’s criminal trial began to strengthen his father’s support in Washington. The young Bolsonaro said the move had an impact on Trump’s decision to impose new tariffs on Brazil.
In a statement after his arrest Monday, House Rep. Bolsonaro called Moraes an “out-of-control psychopath who never hesitates to double down.”
Trump shared a letter he sent to Bolsonaro last month. “I have seen terrible treatments you have been receiving at the hands of an unfair system that opposed you,” he wrote. “This exam should be over soon!”
Washington based sanctions against Moraes last week on accusations that a judge had approved arbitrary pretrial detention and restrained freedom of expression.
Graziera Testa, a professor of political science at the Federal University of Parana, added that the arrest could provide a heap of pretext for additional measures against Brazil, and that Bolsonaro appears to be consciously causing escalation.
“I think things can escalate because this is seen as a response to Magnitsky’s sanctions,” said Leonardo Barreto, a partner at Think Policy Political Risk Consultancy to Moraes, who mentioned the asset freeze imposed on Moraes last week.
(Reporting by Ricardo Burrito of Brasilia; Additional reporting by Luciana Magalges of Sao Paulo and Daphne Pusaledakis of Washington, written by Andre Romani and Brad Haynes, edited by Kylie Madrid, Leslie Adler and Lincoln’s Feast)
