In an interview with S.Paulo Folha Published on Friday (11), Nobel Paul Krugman’s prize economist once again criticized Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 50% surcharge on Brazilian products, stating that the US president reacted politically to Brazil’s decision to judge Jair Bolsonaro. “Brazil had the boldness to insist on judging Bolsonaro, which Trump clearly sees as a spirit in love,” said Krugman.
The interview resumes the striking arguments Krugman has already exposed in an article the day before: and that the measure alone would be a cause for impeachment in a functional democracy, for its political and non -commercial character.
HAS SheetKrugman pointed out that the case is unprecedented in US history: never before had the US used fares as an instrument of political coercion. “There is nothing economical in Trump’s letter,” he said. He considers Bolsonaro “clearly an authoritarian” and stressed that, in Trump’s case, the Brazilian justice would “dare to contest his vision of US power.”
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Asked about his previous comment, which referred to Bolsonaro as “aspiring dictator,” Krugman reaffirmed this position. “Trying to reverse an election that has lost shows that he does not accept democracy when he does not like the result,” he said, reinforcing his criticism of the former Brazilian president.
On the effects of the tariff, Krugman acknowledges that although specific sectors are affected, such as orange juice, coffee and sugar, these products represent only about 2% of Brazil’s GDP. He notes that the US will lose competitiveness and US consumers will also feel the impact. “There will be alternative sources,” he said, but he warned that “the effect will still be to harm American consumers.”
For Brazil, he believes that the application of reciprocity can be effective, as the country has a commercial deficit with the US and can look for new markets.
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Krugman commented that the imposition of Trump fare can generate internal reaction in the US, especially as prices rise to consumers. He also warned that trade war could weaken the American industry and boost integration between emerging economies, of which Brazil is part.
