President Donald Trump's angry letter to Brazil chastizing its judiciary and informing the country of his plans to slap a massive tariff on its goods contained a "glaring" error, The Guardian noted Wednesday.
Trump issued a scathing rebuke of Brazil's judiciary in his letter, writing, "I knew and dealt with former President Jair Bolsonaro, and respected him greatly, as did most other Leaders of Countries," Trump's letter begins. "The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace. This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!"
The letter went on to say that the United States plans to implement 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods starting Aug. 1 unless Brazilian companies agree to build or manufacture their products in the U.S. Trump said the move is necessary to rectify a "longstanding, very unfair trade relationship between the two countries."
The Guardian zoomed in on his case — and found there is none.
"Leaving aside the heated political rhetoric, there is a glaring factual error in the letter Donald Trump released on Wednesday, imposing a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports, which is the claim that Brazil’s trade policies are causing the US to run 'unsustainable Trade Deficits' with that nation," the publication wrote in a brutal fact check.
The report noted that, on the contrary, the U.S. actually runs a trade surplus with Brazil — largely due to a free-trade deal expanded during Trump’s first term.
The most recent data available from the Brazil Trade Summary posted on the website of the United States Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, backs up that assertion, showing the U.S. goods trade surplus with Brazil was $7.4 billion last year, up 32 percent from 2023.
