HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday he is removing a tariff for some Brazilian products.
He issued an executive order in which he said that some agricultural products are no longer subject to a 40% tariff. There has been progress in negotiations with Brazil to address Trump’s concerns from a previous order, and various officials recommended removing the tariff, the president explained.
“After considering the information and recommendations these officials have provided to me and the status of negotiations with the Government of Brazil, among other things, I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to modify the scope of products subject to the additional ad valorem rate of duty imposed under Executive Order 14323,” Trump wrote, referencing a tariff set through a July directive. “Specifically, I have determined that certain agricultural products shall not be subject to the additional ad valorem rate of duty imposed under Executive Order 14323.”
Brazil’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it is satisfied with the tariff removal, noting it will continue negotiating to resolve issues.
Trump said in his July order that Brazil had violated Americans’ free expression rights, interfered with the U.S. economy, “subverted” the U.S.’s protection of its citizens, undermined the Brazilian “rule of law” and jeopardized the “orderly development” of Brazil’s political, administrative and economic institutions. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has rejected Trump’s rationale, however, claiming that the president’s motives are “political” and “illogical.”
“When the United States turns its back on a relationship of more than 200 years, such as the one it maintains with Brazil, everyone loses,” Lula said in an article for The New York Times in September. “There are no ideological differences that should prevent two governments from working together in areas where they have common goals.”
Trump claimed Brazil was compelling social media platforms to censor Americans and restrict their ability to raise money on them. Brazilian officials were also targeting political opponents and persecuting former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of planning a coup to stay in power after a 2022 election loss, according to Trump.
Lula dismissed all the allegations, writing that Trump’s comments on censorship were dishonest and that the ruling on Bolsonaro was in line with the Brazilian constitution. Lula noted, though, that Brazil and the U.S. are capable of respecting each other and cooperating for the good of their respective citizens.
“President Trump, we remain open to negotiating anything that can bring mutual benefits. But Brazil’s democracy and sovereignty are not on the table,” Lula said.
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