Washington Calls It Payback, Not a DeportationA senior State Department official walked reporters through the decision on a Tuesday briefing call, describing it as a tit-for-tat response to Brazil's refusal to formally clear Washington's own ambassadorial nominee. Brazil's foreign ministry has spent weeks arguing, separately, that Washington is leaning on both diplomatic and economic levers to tilt the political mood ahead of the country's October presidential vote. A State Department official dismissed that reasoning, insisting Brazil "owes us a prompt and positive answer to our request." A Trade Fight With an Unusual TwistLayered on top of the ambassador standoff is a bruising tariff dispute. With Washington and Brasília now trading visa cancellations and tariff threats just two months before Brazilians vote, there's little sign the diplomatic freeze will thaw before the ballots are counted.