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France 24
35 minutes ago
- France 24
Trump's tariffs on Brazil are 'explicit blackmail', O Globo says
There are lots of reactions in the Brazilian papers to Trump 's threats to impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian goods. This is in retaliation for criminal charges levelled against former Brazilian president and Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro. In response to the threats, the current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reminded the US that Brazil is a sovereign nation and threatened reciprocal measures in turn, Brazilian daily O Globo reports. The paper slams what it calls the US's "explicit blackmail" in favour of Bolsonaro's impunity. The former leader is facing justice for having conspired to stay in power after the 2022 presidential election by commandeering a Jan 6-style presidential uprising. In a strongly-worded opinion piece, the writer for Folha de Sao Paolo says there is only one person responsible for these tariff hikes: Jair Bolsonaro. The paper surmises that Trump's letter appears to have been written by Eduardo Bolsonaro, one of Bolsonaro's children; or one of the "patriots who fled Brazil for Disneyland to engineer US foreign intervention in Brazil's internal affairs." Trump also welcomed five West African leaders to the White House on Wednesday: those of Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Gabon and Liberia. The African press hail the pivot from aid to trade in US-Africa diplomacy. The Burkina Faso paper Wakat Sera is thrilled with the Trump method, "which leaves no place for empty words". The paper's editors offer a gentle reminder to Trump, who in a cringeworthy moment, congratulated the Liberian president for his excellent English. The paper reminds us that English is the official language of Liberia, a country founded by freed American slaves. "Thank you Uncle Trump", it says affectionately, noting that Trump could do with being a little less patronising but concedes that this a criticism often levelled against French President Emmanuel Macron as well. One of the items on Trump's agenda is convincing the African leaders to accept migrants deported by the US, whose countries of origin refuse to take them back. The Liberian paper New Republic says it's unclear if the five African leaders agreed to Trump's so-called third country migrant proposal but notes that it indicates the overlap between the US's aggressive campaign of deportations and its foreign policies. In any case, if leaders are looking to ingratiate themselves with Trump in his second term, there is a way in: pump him up as a candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize! The Wall Street Journal says that after Pakistan and Israel, the African leaders at the White House were open to the idea of Trump receiving a Nobel Prize, with Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye saying it would be "deserved". As they say, flattery will get you everywhere! In other news: Gizmodo reports on an AI search startup's new web browser that could fundamentally transform how we use the internet. The internet, as we know it, is based on clicks – clicks drive our searches, help us pay for purchases and drive ad revenue as well. On Wednesday, the AI search startup Perplexity launched Comet: a web browser powered by AI. Instead of clicks, it's described as your second brain – like Chat GPT with a browser tab. It is capable of researching, comparing options, making purchases, briefing you for the day and analysing information at your behest. Now, Comet is coming for Google Chrome, the pioneer of internet searches. Instead of you entering every command with a click, the browser will anticipate your needs and in the process blow up the very lucrative model that Google has established through ad-based searches. Finally: a German hospital is operating on teddy bears to show children that doctors aren't scary! The Times of London reports that for a few days each year, the Darmstadt clinic's teaching hospital becomes a triage centre for injured cuddly toys. Some 600 pre-schoolers were invited so that doctors could teach them about the human body and more importantly, convince them that doctors and hospitals aren't so scary! The kids were even advised to bring in their own plushies for treatment and got to dress in scrubs and masks for the occasion. The children got to watch medical students applying bandages, taking X-rays and measuring the toys' temperatures.
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
The limits of Trump's tariff strategy
The "Liberation Day" proclaimed by Donald Trump on April 2 is turning into Groundhog Day. His trade policy, which was supposed to impose prohibitive tariffs on countries unwilling to sign deals favorable to the United States, has struggled to reach a resolution, keeping the global economy shrouded in uncertainty. His bombastic announcements in the spring sparked a bout of panic on the bond market, forcing him to grant his trading partners a 90-day grace period. When the ultimatum expired on Wednesday, July 9, the US administration, having failed to secure as many bilateral agreements as it had hoped, decided to set a new date of August 1, accompanied by threats of additional tariffs on some 20 countries as well as on copper, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. Although repeated postponements and shifting terms have undermined the credibility of Trump's strategy, these vacillations have not surprised many observers. The US administration has appeared divided on how to proceed, running up against the complexity of a process it had underestimated. After promising that the president would secure "90 deals in 90 days," only three agreements have been signed at this stage: with the United Kingdom, Vietnam and China. While traditional trade agreements typically run to hundreds of pages and take years to negotiate, Trump settled for a document just a few pages long with the UK, full of promises yet to be fulfilled. With Vietnam, no text has been published and the details of the deal have not been released. As for China, it was Xi Jinping who turned the balance of power in his favor by forcing his counterpart to back down in order to reach a very fragile truce. Devalued word The European Union may be close to finalizing an agreement, but negotiators have struggled to secure immediate tariff relief and a commitment not to introduce new measures. What guarantees does Trump offer that in three or nine months' time he will not double down under some pretext or demand further concessions? This is the crux of the problem with his approach: By blowing up the framework of multilateralism and international law and replacing it with strong-arm tactics, the word of the US has lost its value. "The deals are mostly my deal to them [the signatory countries]," admitted Trump, who brandishes tariffs according to his moods and obsessions, with little regard for economic rationale. He has even considered imposing 50% tariffs on Brazil, accusing it of charging his political ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro, with attempting a coup d'état. International trade has been plunged into a worrying maelstrom. In the midst of a fresh bout of confusion, the US administration has been trying to project strength while avoiding another financial panic. But as increasingly chaotic announcements pile up and deadlines are pushed further out, the risk is merely postponed. The day these threats are actually carried out, the market's reaction could be as violent as it was in April. For now, the stock market is betting that "Trump always chickens out." But for how long?
LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
Trump leverages tariffs to support Jair Bolsonaro
After months of threats, Donald Trump finally followed through. On Wednesday, July 9, he announced his plan to raise tariffs on all Brazilian exports to the United States to 50%, up from the current 10%. He justified the measure, set to take effect on August 1, by the legal situation facing his ally, former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently being prosecuted and faces the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence. Trump explained his reasoning in a letter addressed to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and published on social media. "The way Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace. This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!" wrote the Republican president. In his letter, Trump also condemned the "insidious attacks" that he claimed Brazil was carrying out against "Free Elections" and "Free Speech Rights of Americans," criticizing attempts by the Brazilian judiciary to regulate social media. "Please understand that the 50% number is far less than what is needed to have the Level Playing Field we must have with your Country," the US president insisted, threatening to impose an additional 50% tariff increase should Brasília retaliate.
