US Senator Lindsey Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s leading allies in the US Congress, said on Monday that the United States should impose heavy tariffs against Brazil, China and India if these countries continue to buy Russian oil.
In an interview with Fox NewsGraham accused the three BRICS members of funding Vladimir Putin’s “war machine” in Ukraine and promised economic retaliation.
“Let’s impose heavy tariffs against you and we will crush your economies, because what you are doing is bloodstained money,” said the senator by classifying transactions as an indirect support for the Russian war effort, which has lasted more than three years.
Speech occurs amid the intensification of the tariff war between Brazil and the United States, which began with Trump’s threat. Now, under the geopolitical argument of the war in Ukraine, the tricky surroundings press for even higher tariffs – this time up to 100%.
According to Graham, Trump intends to expand economic sanctions not only against Russia, but against any country that maintains commercial ties with the Putin regime.
“China, India and Brazil will have to choose between the US economy and help Putin. And I think they will choose the US economy,” said the senator, reinforcing the speech that Trump is “tired of this game.”
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Last week, Moscow himself does not end the conflict with Ukraine in 50 days. The position was endorsed by the new Secretary-General of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Mark Rutte, who asked BRICS countries to increase diplomatic pressure against Kremlin.
Diplomatic pressures
Brazil, which maintains trade relations with Russia in the energy and agricultural sector, has been directly cited in Washington’s economic pressure speech. Until then, the dispute with the US was centered on accusations of “unfair trade practices”, such as incentive to use PIX or local digital regulation. Now the geopolitical argument opens a new front of conflict, especially in the oil and fuel trade.
Graham’s rhetoric expands Brazil’s rhetorical isolation in the global board and represents a new degree of threat to its diplomatic and energetic autonomy.
