🇧🇷 🇺🇲 US tariffs: Brazil is negotiating with an “elected autocracy”

With sweeping 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods set to take effect on August 1, US President Donald Trump is using America's economic clout to put pressure on Brazil — and potentially interfere with its democratic processes.

To unpack the implications, our own Gustavo Ribeiro, editor-in-chief of The Brazilian Report, and reporter Isabela Cruz, who covers politics and the judiciary, welcome:

• Filipe Campante, a professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University. He holds a PhD in economics from Harvard and previously taught at Harvard and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

What we talked about:

• Why Trump is targeting Brazil — and why now

• The risks of retaliatory measures and the economic fallout

• What this pressure campaign reveals about democracy in both countries

• How Brazil’s accountability for coup plotters sets it apart from the US

• Whether Brazil’s institutions can endure mounting internal and external stress

“The most striking thing is how the US has rapidly converged into what is functionally an elected autocracy,” Campante said.

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