US trading spokesman Jameson Green insisted on Sunday that the White House has the power to implement all kinds of international tariffs – even when duties have little to do with the economy.

Something that Brazil has already felt. President Donald Trump imposed a 50% duty on the country last Wednesday, with the basic excuse for Brazil’s restrictions on social media and the criminal prosecution of former country’s President Zaire Bolsonaru, an ally of Trump, who is charged with the 20th of Trump.

“He was elected to evaluate the state of the United States’ foreign affairs and take appropriate measures,” Green told Margaret Brennan, CBS on Face the Nation. “There is no doubt that from a legal point of view it is absolutely permissible. And from a political point of view, he was elected, “he added.

“The president found in Brazil, as in other countries, misuse of the law, misuse of democracy,” said Jameson Green. “It is normal to use tariff tools for geopolitical issues (!),” He added.

A Brazilian official told Politico last week that the country’s legal system is completely separate from its executive power and that the country’s government could stop Bolsonaros’ trial only through an extensive amnesty law.

Brazilian President Luis Inasio Lula da Silva, however, who, according to prosecutors, was poisoned in a coup attempt by Bolsonaru, has categorically rejected US demands.

However, Trump continues to support Bolsonaru, likening the case of the former Brazilian president to his own adventures with the US legal system.

“This is nothing more or less than an attack on a political opponent – something I know a lot about!” He complained to Truth Social in July. “It happened to me, at 10 times, and now our country is the” most caute “in the world! The great Brazilian people will not tolerate what they are doing to their former president, “the US president added.

Greer said on Sunday that Trump’s duties in Brazil are fully legally relying under a 1977 law, known as an International Emergency Emergency Act (IEEPA). This is true, although the US has long been a trade surplus against the country of South America.

“The president of the United States, historically, whether he is a democratic or a Republican, has used IEEPA law to impose sanctions on all kinds of geopolitical reasons in all kinds of countries,” Green said. “Sometimes they concern the whole country, sometimes specific persons and often foreign leaders and foreign officials. Therefore, this is not much different. “

Negotiations between the White House and Canada on a trade agreement have also been swamped. The president announced increased duties to Canadian imports last Thursday, but the goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement are excluded, which means that many areas have escaped.

However, Ottawa’s policy could endanger any attempt to economic peace between the two countries. Trump said last week that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s commitment to recognize a Palestinian state “will make us very difficult to conclude a trade agreement with them.”

Greer insisted on Sunday that the government has a clear plan for the future of its relationship with the big north.

“Our view is that the president is trying to correct the terms of trade with Canada and, if there is a way for an agreement, we will find him,” he said. “And if it doesn’t, we will have the levels of duties we have,” he concluded.