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Brazil pushes back against US as dispute widens

Aug 19, 2025, 6:11am EDT
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A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro, gestures in handcuffs during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Brazilian products
Mateus Bonomi/File Photo/Reuters

Brazil rejected a US probe into trade between the countries, signaling that Brasília won’t back down in its widening dispute with Washington.

US President Donald Trump threatened Brazilian imports with a 50% tariff for what he says is the “witch hunt” of rightist former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is being prosecuted over an alleged coup plot. In response to the threats, Brazil has courted other nations to diversify trade, while China has built a huge export terminal close to São Paulo in part to increase its purchases of Brazilian — rather than US — soybeans.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian Supreme Court judge prosecuting Bolsonaro vowed to see the trial through: “There isn’t the smallest of possibilities of retreating,” he told The Washington Post.

A chart showing Brazil’s exports to China and the US.
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