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Trump's Tariff Tantrum: America Disgraced by Bolsonaro Bailout Demand [1]

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Date: 2025-07-09

The Financial Fiasco Waiting to Happen

This isn't just about a diplomatic spat; this is about hitting American wallets. Brazil is our 15th largest trading partner . In 2024, we did about $92 billion in two-way trade . We actually had a $7.4 billion trade surplus with them. Yeah, a surplus. So, this isn't about rebalancing anything, unless "rebalancing" means blowing up what works.

A 50% tariff? That's not just a little nudge; that's a goddamn sledgehammer to the gut. What happens when you slap a tax like that on imports? Well, American consumers get to pay more for everything from Brazilian coffee and beef to iron ore and steel. Think your grocery bill is too high now? Just wait. This isn't revenue for the U.S. treasury; it's a tax on every American who buys something that started its journey in Brazil. Businesses that rely on those imports, from coffee roasters to steel fabricators, are going to see their costs skyrocket. Some of them will eat it, some will pass it on to you, and some might just go belly up. And you can bet Brazil won't just sit there and take it. Retaliation? Oh, it's coming. American exports will get hit, and suddenly our farmers and manufacturers will be crying uncle, because they can't sell their goods in Brazil anymore. It's a lose-lose, pure and simple.

Diplomacy? What's That?

Now, let's get to the real insult, the part that makes decent people hang their heads in shame. A president, any president, interfering in the justice system of another sovereign nation ? That's not how the world works. That's not how any of this works. Brazil has its own laws, its own courts, its own process for dealing with alleged crimes, even if the guy in the dock used to be president. Bolsonaro is fac ing charges of trying to overturn an election – a charge that sounds awfully familiar around here.

For the U.S. President to demand that Brazil drop its prosecution, under threat of economic devastation, is an act of international thuggery. It spits in the face of every principle of judicial independence and national sovereignty we supposedly stand for. It makes us look like some banana republic, where legal matters are decided by the whims of a powerful leader with a grudge, not by due process. It’s a violation of every normal mode of diplomacy, a blatant, unbelievable overreach.

A Disgrace on the World Stage

This isn't about grand strategy; it’s a petty, personal vendetta. It's Trump playing king, using the immense power of the United States as his personal toy to settle scores for his buddies. He's doing it because Bolsonaro is his kind of guy . That's it. No invasion, no unfair trade practices that actually harm us, just pure, unadulterated hubris.

And the legality of it? The Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce and slap on tariffs, not some self-appointed emperor, While Congress has, foolishly perhaps, given presidents some leeway on tariffs for things like national security or unfair trade, there's no legal leg to stand on here. No one, not even the most deranged conspiracy theorist, could seriously argue that Brazil is "invading" us or posing some existential threat. It's illegal. It's a sham. It's a disgrace.

This sort of behavior doesn't just hurt our economy; it humiliates us globally. It tells every other country, "Don't bother with international law, don't bother with mutual respect. If you don't do exactly what I want, I'll smash your economy." It destroys trust. It isolates us. It makes our alliances brittle. And for what? So one man can settle a personal beef and look tough for his base?

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/7/9/2332593/-Trump-s-Tariff-Tantrum-America-Disgraced-by-Bolsonaro-Bailout-Demand?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web

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