Donald Trump restores tariffs on metal imports from Brazil and Argentina, slammed by him for taking advantage of U.S. dollar

By Julio Severo

President Donald Trump said on November 2, 2019 that he would immediately restore tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports from Brazil and Argentina.

Trump also urged the Federal Reserve to prevent those countries from gaining an economic advantage from the U.S. by devaluing their currencies.

“Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies, which is not good for our farmers. Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the US from those countries,” Trump said in a tweet.

“The Federal Reserve should likewise act so that countries, of which there are many, no longer take advantage of our strong dollar,” Trump tweeted.

Essentially, Trump treated Brazil and Argentina as taking advantage of the U.S.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, an avowed fan of Trump who has actively sought closer ties with the U.S. president, had expressed hope that Trump would show mercy to Brazil’s commodity-based economy.

Bolsonaro said he would also discuss Trump’s declaration with Economy Minister Paulo Guedes.

“I’m going to call him so that he doesn't penalize us,” Bolsonaro said. “Our economy basically comes from commodities, it’s what we’ve got. I hope that he understands and that he doesn’t penalize us with this, and I’m almost certain he’ll listen to us.”

Trump offered the US’s “full and complete support” to President Bolsonaro in August. Obviously, Trump cannot now support specific actions when his intelligence services have probably informed him about deliberate currency devaluation to take advantage of the U.S. economy.

Trump is right. He was elected to make the U.S., not Brazil and Argentina, great. Whenever economic issues clash with his goal, he has every right to privilege the U.S. over any other nations.

Trump does not care about the specific ideological leanings of Brazil and Argentina and their mutual clashes. He only wants them to stop taking advantage of the U.S.

To devaluate the Brazilian currency can be good for some Brazilian companies. But, as Trump showed, it is not good for U.S. companies. It is not good also for hard-working Brazilians, because with a devalued currency, they suffer economically more.

After Bolsonaro’s election in 2018, Brazilians were expecting the devaluation of their currency to stop — but it never did.

Massive devaluation of the currency equals to massive economic crisis.

Deliberate currency devaluation is a very serious issue. But massive currency devaluation is a massively serious issue.

Bolsonaro should be urged to accept Trump’s rebuke as a good advice and at last stop the insane devaluation of the Brazilian currency.

If I am allowed to give an economic advice to Bolsonaro, which would greatly please hard-working Brazilians and U.S. investors, I would advise him to make a massive tax reduction. High taxes are the main problem hurting workers, the economy and investors.

With information from DailyMail.

Portuguese version of this article: Donald Trump restaura tarifas sobre importações de metais do Brasil e Argentina, criticados por ele por tirarem vantagem do dólar americano

Source: Last Days Watchman

Recommended Reading:

Ideological Clash between Brazil and Argentina, with Trump Choosing Not to Side with Bolsonaro’s Conflict against Argentina