Trump vs. Lula: Trump’s Arrogance Toward Brazil and the LAC Is a Threat to Us All.

Donald Trump recently announced a new round of tariffs including outrageous ones on Brazil that bring the effective tariff rate to 50%. Forget that we have a surplus with Brazil or that they’re one of the biggest economies in Latin America, one of our closest allies historically and the biggest democracy in South America. Trump’s upset that the Lula administration is targeting his friend Jair Bolsonaro, dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics.” Or so he claims. There’s a lot more to this ridiculous and misguided trade war than hurt feelings and bad economics. It’s about Brazil’s leadership of the BRICS+ alliance that threatens to undermine Trump’s plan to personally become the central banker to the world. Resources Jeffrey Group: Brasil June 6th, 2025 IMF: IMF Staff Completes 2025 Article IV Visit to Brazil OECD: OECD Economic Outlook, Volume 2025 Issue 1 Deloitte: Brazil economic outlook, March 2025 Al Jazeera: Trump’s hefty tariff on Brazil expected to push the country towards China The Guardian - President Lula hits back as Trump tariffs threaten US-Brazil trade showdown VoxDev: Understanding Brazil’s falling income inequality PBS: Argentina secures IMF loan and ends most capital controls in key milestones for President Milei MeidasTouch: Trump’s PANICKED MOVE delivers DEATHBLOW Atlantic Council: The stablecoin race -- If you like #UNFTR, please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, TikTok and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join our Discord at unftr.com/discord. Become a member at unftr.com/memberships. Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee at shop.unftr.com. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility. Unf*cking the Republic is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is hosted by Max and distributed by 99.Support the show: https://www.unftr.com/membershipsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.