The legal battle over the Trump administration’s tariff regime took another twist this week. A U.S. court temporarily suspended a lower-court ruling that had declared the new tariffs illegal, meaning the levies remain in force — for now. The ruling keeps importers in limbo while the broader constitutional question over presidential trade authority winds its way through the judiciary.
Meanwhile, the financial fallout is staggering: U.S. importers have already filed $35.5 billion in tariff refund requests, according to O Globo. The sheer volume signals the scale of economic disruption caused by the trade measures and suggests that businesses are betting on an eventual legal reversal.
In Brazil, the tariff debate has taken a domestic turn. President Lula announced an end to the so-called “blusinhas tax” — a levy on cheap imported clothing — prompting fury from the national textile industry. The Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (Abit) called the decision “extremely misguided,” warning that removing the tariff would expose domestic manufacturers to a flood of cheap imports from platforms like Shein and Temu.
