Economist Justin Wolfers is once again attacking President Donald Trump, this time over the latter’s 50% tariffs on imports from Brazil.
What Happened: On Sunday, in a post on X, Wolfers questioned the rationale behind the latest U.S. tariffs imposed on the South American nation, calling it an ideologically driven move that will hurt American consumers without improving domestic supply chains.
“We now have a 50% tariff on Brazil, because it puts in jail its insurrectionists,” Wolfers says, referring to Trump’s letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last week, in which he cited the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro as one of the reasons behind the tariffs.
In the post that includes a video snippet of his recent appearance on MSNBC’s Velshi, Wolfers criticized the logic of applying tariffs to commodities like copper and coffee, pointing out that they don’t lead to increased domestic supply, and as a result, are “literally a tax on Americans.”
“We can't import the mines from other countries,” he said. “We can't bring the coffee industry back to the United States — nowhere near enough.”
According to Wolfers, this is less about trade policy and more about sending a political message. “All of this is literally attacks on Americans in order to add a show of political support to a foreign insurrectionist,” he says.
“Your next coffee now comes with an insurrection infusion fee,” Wolfers says, pointing to the 50% import tariffs that American consumers will now have to bear, which he says will be in support of those who put “coup” in “coup-pucino,” a sly reference to Bolsonaro’s supporters who stormed Brazil’s Presidential Palace in 2023.
Why It Matters: Economists were bewildered by Trump’s decision to impose a 50% tariff on Brazil last week, saying that it sets a troubling precedent, given the United States’ trade surplus with the nation.
Da Silva hit back against Trump’s letter and the accompanying tariffs, saying that his country “will not accept any form of tutelage,” while defending the legal proceedings against Bolsonaro as a matter of judicial sovereignty. He also pointed out Brazil’s $410 billion trade deficit with the U.S. over the past 15 years.
Late last week, Da Silva once again reaffirmed his stance on the matter, saying that Brazil would take the necessary measures to “protect its people and its companies.”
He also stated that there would be no negotiations and that “the law of reciprocity will be put into practice.” Therefore, if the nation is charged 50% tariffs on exports to the U.S., it would in turn impose 50% tariffs on American imports.
“If he's [Trump] going to charge us 50, we're going to charge him 50,” Da Silva said on his official X account on Friday.
Photo Courtesy: Venus Kaewyoo on Shutterstock.com
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