Trump Admin Claims That Brazil’s Efforts to Fight Misinformation on Social Media Justify 25% Tariffs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Trade Representative has announced a determination on its “Section 301” investigation into Brazil, declaring that certain policies are “unreasonable and burden or restrict U.S. commerce” — including social media regulation to limit online political misinformation, and establishment of the “Pix” national digital payments system to support financial inclusion and banking system competition — and therefore justify a 25% tariff on Brazilian goods.
Melinda St Louis, Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch division issued the following statement:
“The U.S. Trade Representative’s findings in this Brazil probe are just the latest evidence of the Trump administration’s commitment to Big Tech CEOs and their global deregulatory agenda.
“This sham investigation was started in the wake of President Trump’s temper tantrum over an independent Brazilian court’s treatment of his fellow coup-attempter Jair Bolsonaro. And now its findings mark another win for Trump’s other right-wing bestie and man poised to become the world’s first trillionaire, Elon Musk, who had a messy public battle with Brazilian officials over efforts to stop political misinformation on social media.
“Doing the bidding of Big Tech CEOs obviously does nothing to help U.S. jobs or help small businesses, but continues Trump’s pattern of misusing trade tools to coerce countries into concessions favorable for his billionaire (and trillionaire?) buddies.
“These charades threaten the legitimacy of the genuine investigations needed to combat actual trade cheating and to support U.S. workers.
“The Trump administration is expected to use other looming Section 301 investigations to recreate the global tariff architecture rejected by the Supreme Court, making this outcome a concerning preview of coming attractions.”
For More Information, See:
- Public Citizen’s comments submitted to the Section 301 investigation
- Public Citizen’s testimony at the Section 301 hearing
- Analysis: Trump’s Bizarre, Authoritarian, Big Tech-Friendly Tariffs on Brazil