Newspapers cite “Democracy Assault” and “Pressure against the Rule of Law” by reporting 50% tariff about Brazilian exports and retaliation of the White House against STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes.
Die Zeit: US measurements are “totally exaggerated”
In citing recent United States sanctions against Brazilian exports and the Supreme Court Minister (STF) Alexandre de Moraes, the German newspaper Die Zeit ranked them in an analysis published on Friday (01/08) as “totally exaggerated”.
“The most remarkable in this tariff dispute, however, is that it has nothing to do with tariffs,” says the newspaper, citing the positive balance to the US in the trade scale with Brazil. “The justification of the White House for the tariffs sounds, therefore, more than strange […]that Brazil represents a threat to US national security because the Brazilian government would be politically persecuting former President Jair Bolsonaro, violating human rights and restricting freedom of expression. ”
“With this, Trump tries for the first time directly to intervene directly in the internal policy and the judiciary of a democratic country. And, once again, reverses reality in this process.”
“The US government seems to be willing to risk a lot for Bolsonaro. This is evident not only in high tariffs, but also in hard action against Minister Alexandre de Moraes,” says Zeit, citing his framing in Magnitsky Law, “one of the hardest US foreign policy instruments, used against dictators or war criminals.”
Der Spiegel: “Many would like their rulers to face Trump with the same self -confidence as Moraes”
“Just a few hours after Donald Trump impose sanctions on the Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes, he was, with all the peace of mind, to the football stadium. […] He took advantage of the moment of public exposure and displayed his middle finger – a gesture, unnatural gesture directed to Washington. The message: ‘I’m little sanding,’ ”wrote the German magazine Der Spiegel, also this Friday, saying that Trump distorts sanctions and uses them as a blackmail instrument to favor Bolsonaro.
“Many Brazilians must have felt represented [pelo gesto de Moraes]. Also in Europe and in other parts of the world, many would probably like to secretly have their representatives to have the courage to face Donald Trump with the same self -confidence demonstrated by this judge and the Brazilian government. ”
“In fact, Moraes doesn’t fit Trump’s friendly friend-friendly scheme: he’s not left-handed,” says Spiegel, citing his appointment to the court by former President Michel Temer (MDB). “The Brazilian left protested at the time. Today, they celebrate the ‘Xandão’, as the judge call, as a pioneer in the fight against Trump.”
The Guardian: “Trump exports to Brazil his assault on democracy”
“In the last six months, Donald Trump has been accused of rapidly dragging on the largest democracy in the Americas to authoritarian. Now, the former US president also seems to undermine the second largest democracy in the region,” said The Guardian on Thursday (07/31), commenting on the 50% tariff imposed by the president of Brazil the day before.
The tariff and sanctions to Moraes are, in the words of the British newspaper, an “extraordinary attack on Brazilian institutions”, “partly as retaliation for what he [Trump] He called political persecution to his ally Jair Bolsonaro, ”defendant in the case of the coup plot.
“Trump’s effort to help Bolsonaro escape justice […]pressing the government and the Supreme Court, excited the former president’s supporters, ”says Guardian,“ but millions of Brazilians enhanced […] who are outraged by what they call the foreign maneuver intolerable to subvert their democracy 40 years after it has been restored after two decades of dictatorship. ”
Trump rates only work if “targeted governments are impressed,” writes the German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” | E. Blondet/w. Oliver/Picture Alliance
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: “Tariffs contradict Trump’s strategic interests in Latin America”
“That Trump not only pursues economic goals with his tariffs, this has seen a few times,” says the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in a comment published on Thursday.
If, in Trump’s hands, tariffs have seen “a kind of general weapon in foreign policy, somewhere between classical diplomacy and military means,” they only work if “the American consumer is willing, in the long run, to bear the costs”, and if the “targeted governments are impressed”, which does not seem to be the case of Brazil.
“Politically, resisting the US is even advantageous for President Lula. After all, it is Latin America.”
“Tariffs also contradict Trump’s strategic goals. He wants to expel China from the Western Hemisphere – see Panama and Greenland. But if he now seeks the confrontation because of his old friend Bolsonaro, he just ends up pushing Brazil further, member of Brics, to Beijing’s arms.”
The New York Times: “clear sign that the Trump government is ready for a confrontation with Brazil”
“Lula told NYT on Tuesday [29/07] that his government had been studying retaliatory rates on some American products if Trump fulfilled their threats. Now he will have to decide whether or not to launch a trade war against Brazil’s second largest commercial partner, ”wrote the American newspaper.
“Given the broad tariff exemptions, Wednesday’s measurements may end up being less harmful than they seem-but they are a clear sign that the Trump government is ready for a confrontation with Brazil.”
TAGESSCHAU: “Tariffs are an instrument of pressure against the rule of law of Brazil”
“The tone is becoming harsher, the pressure increases. The United States and Brazil face the worst diplomatic crisis in decades – and there is no end in sight,” said the German portal Tagesschau.
“Just before the Trump government has fulfilled its tariff threat on Wednesday, he also imposed sanctions against the STF minister who became the face of the lawsuit against Bolsonaro: Alexandre de Moraes.”
“Lula, in turn, was adamant-and combative […]. Trump’s attack and the firm defense of Brazilian sovereignty gave Lula an unexpected drive of popularity […].”
“And even if tariffs harshly reach Brazil, the country is economically less dependent on exports to the US than others in the region. Who will benefit the most will be the country that Trump most combats: China, which today is already the main commercial partner in Brazil.”
Originally published by DW on 08/02/2025
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/08/04/imprensa-internacional-repercute-sancoes-de-trump-ao-brasil/
