U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threat against Brazil over a legal probe into his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, caught the Supreme Court in Brasilia off guard.
The top court is in recess during July — not all its judges were even in the country — making it difficult to convene to formulate a response. But a group of justices including Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the former president’s case, immediately began discussing a response aimed more at asserting national sovereignty than easing tensions with the U.S.
Just after Trump threatened 50% tariffs on Brazil on July 9, this group advocated for the court to issue a statement challenging the U.S. president’s assertion of a "Witch Hunt,” according to two people with knowledge of how the events unfolded. In the end, Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso agreed in a call with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that the first response should come from the political sphere, a third person said, all of them asking not be named discussing private deliberations.
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