The United States increased pressure on Brazil by releasing two reports directly criticizing the country, affecting both the commercial environment and Judiciary decisions. The demonstrations occur at a time of uncertainty in the relationship with the Lula government, raise concerns about impacts on the political and electoral scenario and reinforce the climate of tension between Brasília and Washington.
This Wednesday (1st), the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released a report that outlines a critical overview of trade relations with Brazil and highlights a series of obstacles faced by American companies in the country. The material is part of an investigation opened by the agency last year, based on Section 301 of the US Trade Law – an instrument that allows the application of tariffs and other restrictions against countries accused of unfair practices.
In the document, the American government criticizes the high tariffs on foreign products, the tax system and the Brazilian regulatory environment, considered “not very predictable”. The USTR further mentions:
- legislative proposals that could impact digital platforms and international companies;
- circulation of counterfeit and pirated products, with mention of the Rua 25 de Março region, in São Paulo;
- technical requirements, import licensing and rules considered to be non-transparent; and
- concern about possible preferential treatment for Pix, which could harm foreign digital payments companies.
At the same time, the US House Judiciary Committee accused the Brazilian Judiciary of imposing a “censorship model with global reach”.
The report points out that decisions by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), determined the removal of content and accounts on social networks with global reach, including users residing in the United States. According to the document, these orders, in several cases, involved content of a political nature, including criticism of the STF, and could affect the freedom of expression protected by the US Constitution.
The text also mentions the children of former president Jair Bolsonaro as targets of Moraes. Former deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in the USA, would have been the target of measures that limit his activities on the networks, while senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) is cited under the assessment that the minister’s decisions could impact the public debate in Brazil on the eve of the elections, by targeting opponents and restricting their presence on social networks.
Also this Wednesday (1st), the US State Department, in a note sent to the portal Metropolisesexpressed “serious concerns” about Brazilian court decisions that restrict freedom of expression online in Brazil and access to information. The body also cited possible actions by the Lula government that would be suppressing unfavorable political opinions without due legal process – without specifying which measures.
After the release of the report, Eduardo Bolsonaro said that the US government’s demonstrations about Brazil show Americans’ “concern” about this year’s electoral election, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s endorsement of the report shows that the US is “attentive” to “persecution and censorship” in Brazil.
According to international strategist Cezar Roedel, the material released opens space for a possible escalation in tensions between Brazil and the United States in the coming months, especially in the electoral context. According to him, the progress of the USTR’s commercial investigation, combined with American criticism about freedom of expression, tends to complicate the relationship between the Lula and Donald Trump governments.
Roedel also assesses that at this moment there is a “window of possible measures and trade sanctions” by the US against Brazil, since Washington may adopt a tougher stance in the face of the more protectionist profile of the Brazilian economy and the current international alignment of the Lula government with countries such as Iran, Russia and China.
New criticisms occur before meeting between Lula and Trump
Donald Trump and Lula began to have a more cordial relationship after the UN General Assembly, when the American president mentioned that there was “chemistry” between the two. After the episode, the Trump administration exempted Brazilian products from different sectors from last year’s “tariff”, even before it was overturned by the American Supreme Court, in addition to suspending the Magnitsky Law sanctions against Alexandre de Moraes and his wife, Viviane Barci.
A bilateral meeting was scheduled for March, in the context of negotiations on tariffs, regional security and rare earths, but the war between the US and Iran led to the meeting being postponed, with no new date yet set.
Now, new criticism from the American government and the hardening of anti-American rhetoric by the Brazilian president call this approach into question.
According to a newspaper report The Globethe Brazilian government already assesses that American pressure against Brazil could intensify in the coming months, especially with the progress of the investigation opened by the USTR. Authorities interviewed by the newspaper believe that there is an expectation that Section 301 will replace last year’s “tariff” with more targeted and potentially harsher actions against specific sectors of the Brazilian economy.
HAS People’s Gazettefinance and taxation expert Adriana Melo points out that, in the current scenario, the USTR report could even pave the way for new tariffs or requirements for changes in sensitive areas, such as digital services and trade rules.
The House Judiciary Committee’s report, according to the expert, has greater political weight and could encourage new proposals for individual sanctions against Brazilian authorities, along the lines of the Magnitsky Act, or new restrictions on entry into the United States.
Organized crime is yet another obstacle between Lula and the White House
The relationship between the governments of Brazil and the United States is also on a tightrope due to the Trump administration’s interest in classifying the Brazilian factions Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV) as foreign terrorist organizations.
The measure is being discussed within Washington’s regional security strategy and could expand US legal instruments to apply sanctions, asset blocking and financial restrictions against members and collaborators of these criminal groups.
In response to People’s Gazettethe State Department stated that it views Brazilian criminal organizations as “significant threats to regional security due to their involvement in drug trafficking, violence, and transnational crime,” but has not officially confirmed their classification as terrorism.
Behind the scenes, members of the Brazilian government are concerned about the impact of the measure, which could open space for tougher actions by the United States in the country.
Voltage history
Over the past year, the Trump administration has adopted a series of measures against Brazil, including the opening of the investigation based on Section 301, the imposition of additional tariffs that reached 50% on Brazilian products and the revocation of visas of ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
That same year, Washington also applied sanctions based on the Magnitsky Act against minister Alexandre de Moraes, on charges related to the suppression of freedom of expression. Some of these measures were later revised, but the episode marked the lowest point in bilateral relations in decades.
Despite negotiations and attempts at rapprochement throughout the end of 2025, the accumulation of trade disputes, institutional divergences and conflicts in the security area keeps the relationship between Brasília and Washington in a scenario of instability.
A People’s Gazette asked Itamaraty for a position on the issues raised by the US Legislature and Executive, but did not receive a response at the time of writing this report.
