One of President Donald Trump’s objectives by imposing tariffs against countries such as Brazil is directly related to the defense of American companies, especially Big Techs, according to the analysis of the The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
According to the publication, the republican leader’s new global tariff policy seeks to prevent foreign interference through new taxes and regulations on American technology companies and their products.
On July 9, Trump partly justified the imposition of a 50% tariff for Brazil, citing “hundreds of secret and illegal censorship orders to US social media platforms, threatening them with millions of dollars in fines and expulsion from the Brazilian social media market” in an excerpt from the letter addressed to President Lula (PT).
In the analysis of WSJmeasures against the Big Techs of the United States remain a point of discord in the discussions with Brazil, South Korea and the European Union (EU), reported sources familiar with the subject.
Last month, Washington abruptly decided to end commercial negotiations with Canada precisely for measures against technology companies based in the United States.
The neighboring country proposed a tax that would reach US digital services, a decision that led Trump to announce the end of conversations with the Canadian government. Days later, pressured, Prime Minister Mark Carnery reversed scheduled taxation and countries again negotiated.
For years, Silicon Valley companies have complained of impositions that have considered unfair outside the United States, such as regulations and taxes on their services.
Billionaires in the technological sector, such as Elon Musk (X -owner and Tesla founder) and Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Meta CEO), approached Trump before the million dollar donations to the presidential campaign.
According to WSJtechnology entrepreneurs found allies in digital commerce with the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, and other figures in the portfolio. An example of this is that in the commercial agreement signed with Indonesia on Tuesday (22), American negotiators have ensured that the Asian country will not tax electronic services such as films or software downloads from the United States.
Similar agreements were guaranteed with Vietnam, according to sources familiar with the negotiations, although the Trump government has not disclosed details of these commitments so far.
A US government official told the Business Journal that Brazil would be focused on resuming commercial negotiations rather than retaliatory measures.
Despite the statement, on the 17th, President Lula (PT) threatened to taxes technology companies from the United States that operate in Brazil as a retaliation for Trump’s tariff to the country’s imported products, a clear demonstration that countries follow in a impasse.
Two days earlier, the Office of the United States Commercial Representative, an organ of the Donald Trump government, announced that it began an investigation into Brazil’s business practices.
