【By Shao Yun, Observers Network】

According to Xinhua, US President Trump previously claimed that he would impose a 50% tariff on goods imported from Brazil starting August 1, and asked Brazil to stop the judicial investigation into former President Bolsonaro, which caused strong dissatisfaction in Brazil.

According to a source, what really "angry" Trump was Brazil's long-term efforts within the BRICS countries to "de-dollarize". However, on July 27, Brazil's Chief Special Advisor to the President and former Foreign Minister Celso Amorim stated in an interview that Trump's move would only make Brazil double its commitment to the BRICS countries.

It is known that according to Amorim, Trump's attack on Brazil is actually "strengthening our relations with the BRICS countries, because we want to establish a diversified relationship rather than relying on any single country." This statement is considered to be equivalent to "ignoring" Trump's stance of threatening punitive tariffs.

Amorim emphasized that the BRICS countries are not an ideological group. He said that in addition to China, Russia, India, and South Africa, Brazil will also seek to strengthen its relations with European, South American, and Asian countries.

Amorim revealed that Canada currently has the intention to negotiate a free trade agreement with Brazil and expressed that the last year of Lula's government may focus more on South American affairs. He called on the EU to quickly approve the free trade agreement with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), which has been delayed for over two decades.

"If the EU is smart enough, it will approve this agreement, not only for immediate economic interests, but also for greater balance in international relations," Amorim said.

Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay are the four founding members of MERCOSUR. The MERCOSUR-EU free trade agreement negotiations began in 1999, but the negotiations have repeatedly stalled, until last December, shortly after the US election, when the talks finally ended and entered the translation and legal review phase.

April 30, 2025, Brasilia, Brazil - Celso Amorim, Chief Advisor to the Brazilian President, attends the BRICS National Security Advisors meeting at Itamaraty Palace, Visual China

Additionally, Amorim criticized Trump's interference in Brazil's internal affairs as something never seen even in the colonial era. He believed that Trump was trying to conduct political operations inside Brazil to support his friends, that is, Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro is considered a loyal supporter of Trump and has repeatedly expressed admiration for Trump's personal style. He is currently facing a judicial investigation by the current Lula government for allegedly orchestrating a "Brazillian Capitol riot" after losing the 2022 election. Trump accused the investigation of being a "political witch hunt".

Amorim used the diplomatic saying "There are no friends between nations, only interests", to describe Trump as an exception in diplomacy, because "he has neither friends nor interests, only desires." Amorim openly stated that Trump's tough methods were "an embodiment of absolute power."

So far, Trump has twice targeted Brazil this month. On the 6th, Trump first claimed that the BRICS countries were pursuing so-called "anti-US policies" and threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on all countries that maintain consistency with the "anti-US policies" of the BRICS countries.

On the 9th, Trump posted a public letter on social media, claiming that the US and Brazil have had an unfair trade relationship for a long time, and announced that the US would raise the tariff on imported goods from Brazil from 10% to 50% starting August 1. He accused Brazil of treating Bolsonaro as an "international disgrace," and said that the 50% tariff was the US' response to the "persecution" of Bolsonaro, a leader who is highly respected worldwide.

Differently from other countries that received the same "tax letter" this round, the US maintains a large trade surplus with Brazil, but Brazil faces a 50% tax rate, which is among the highest rates proposed by Trump. President Lula of Brazil immediately rejected Trump's tough approach, stating that the duty of the US president is to serve the people of the United States, not to be a "world emperor."

Lula also pointed out that data from the US government showed that over the past 15 years, the US had a trade surplus of about 41 billion dollars in goods and services with Brazil. He emphasized that Brazil is a sovereign country that is not subject to any external interference.

Public letter published by Trump on the 9th, Social Media

Why did Trump specifically target Brazil this time? Some analysts believe it is because the BRICS countries "tipped the scales." Just days before, from July 4 to July 7, Brazil hosted the 17th BRICS Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, and the BRICS countries have been a key focus for Trump's second term.

"You can feel that whenever the president sees the BRICS countries' efforts to 'de-dollarize,' he gets very angry," said Steve Bannon, the White House Chief Strategist during Trump's previous term. "This Rio conference made him even angrier." A source said that this made Trump decide to 'punish' Brazil, but the White House judged that other 'punishment methods' like sanctions would take too long or be too complicated, so ultimately Trump chose to use tariffs to pressure the Lula government.

As a result, some Brazilian media recently even questioned whether Brazil should reconsider its participation in the BRICS to 'protect itself' from the US economic offensive. But Amorim clearly told Brazilian media this week that Brazil "will not leave the BRICS."

Amorim believes such arguments are equivalent to justifying Trump's "shameless extortion." He emphasized that the BRICS countries are not an ideological group, but a cooperation forum between emerging economies and developing countries. "The group includes countries that maintain good relations with the US, such as India and the UAE. No one would think that the UAE, an important ally of Israel and maintaining strategic relations with Washington, would have any hostility towards the US."

He also mocked the actions of the US under Trump's administration: "This reminds me of a drunk person walking the wrong way on a busy road, then angrily shouting: Hey, this is crazy! Why is everyone going the wrong way?"

This article is exclusive to Observer's Network. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7531694916464902666/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author and reader's attitude can be shown via the 【top/down】 button below.