Washington, DC – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement concerning the fake national emergency President Trump announced to impose tariffs on Brazil:
“Donald Trump’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on Brazil isn’t in the interest of American families, who will bear the brunt of these taxes. It’s simply to protect attempted Brazilian coup leader Jair Bolsonaro from prosecution after he, like Trump, tried and failed to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
“These tariffs could cause tens of thousands of American workers to lose their jobs while exponentially increasing the cost of essential goods from Brazil, like coffee. Brazil is the second largest democracy in our hemisphere and a linchpin for U.S. interests, from protecting vital rainforests and critical mineral supplies to promoting democracy in Venezuela. These tariffs amount to a unilateral rupture of relations with Brazil, exacerbated by President Trump’s simultaneous decision to levy sanctions against a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice in an attack on Brazil’s sovereignty, rule of law, and democracy.
“These tariffs, like all others this administration has levied in its global trade war, are unjustified and self-defeating. There is no national emergency with respect to Brazil, nor any of the other countries for which Donald Trump has claimed them in order to institute more taxes on U.S. consumers. That is why I will be introducing a resolution to terminate this latest fake emergency declaration and stop another massive tax hike on Americans.”
“Donald Trump’s decision to impose 50% tariffs on Brazil isn’t in the interest of American families, who will bear the brunt of these taxes. It’s simply to protect attempted Brazilian coup leader Jair Bolsonaro from prosecution after he, like Trump, tried and failed to overturn the results of a free and fair election.
“These tariffs could cause tens of thousands of American workers to lose their jobs while exponentially increasing the cost of essential goods from Brazil, like coffee. Brazil is the second largest democracy in our hemisphere and a linchpin for U.S. interests, from protecting vital rainforests and critical mineral supplies to promoting democracy in Venezuela. These tariffs amount to a unilateral rupture of relations with Brazil, exacerbated by President Trump’s simultaneous decision to levy sanctions against a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice in an attack on Brazil’s sovereignty, rule of law, and democracy.
“These tariffs, like all others this administration has levied in its global trade war, are unjustified and self-defeating. There is no national emergency with respect to Brazil, nor any of the other countries for which Donald Trump has claimed them in order to institute more taxes on U.S. consumers. That is why I will be introducing a resolution to terminate this latest fake emergency declaration and stop another massive tax hike on Americans.”