United States President Donald Trump’s decision to exempt more products from the 40% tariffs represents another step towards resolving a diplomatic disagreement that began on July 9 of this year.
That day, the republican had been publishing open letters in Truth Social in which he reported the reciprocal surcharge in several countries. One after another, the documents contained identical language, with Trump’s common complaints about trade policy, only changing the tax rate that each nation would face.
It was already early evening in Brazil when the letter addressed to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was published. But the missive was different from the others, not just because of the punitive size of the tariff. In it, Trump cited the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro for involvement in the coup plot after the 2022 elections as the main justification for the tariff.
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“The way Brazil has treated former president Bolsonaro, a leader highly respected around the world during his term, including by the United States, is an international shame,” said the American leader.
The words began a long silence in the diplomatic channels between the two countries, while Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo Bolsonaro articulated punishments for ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Washington. Under the influence of the ideological wing, the White House imposed sanctions on minister Alexandre de Moraes and canceled visas for Brazilian judges.
The Lula government protested against the measures within the scope of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Even so, at the end of July, the Americans confirmed the tariff, but included an extensive list of exemptions for products such as airplanes and orange juice. Other products central to Brazilian exports, however, were subject to tariffs.
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From then on, the distance between Brasília and Washington lasted until September, when, once again, Trump surprised. At the UN General Assembly, the republican leader reported a few seconds conversation he had with Lula. It was enough for them to develop “chemistry”, in Trump’s own words. It was the password to reopen the dialogue.
In early October, Trump and Lula spoke by phone and directed their teams to formally open negotiations. Later, in Malaysia, the two had a face-to-face meeting, which they described positively. Since then, the two countries have been negotiating intensively.
