Trump pledges 50% tariffs against Brazil

Slams ‘witch hunt’ against Bolsonaro

- JACK NICAS

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he planned to impose a 50% tariff on all Brazilian imports, partly in retaliation for what he sees as a “witch hunt” against his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial for attempting a coup.

In a letter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Trump wrote that the new tariffs would take effect Aug 1. “The way that 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.”

Trump's effort to use tariffs to intervene in a criminal trial in a foreign nation is an extraordinary example of how he views levies as a one-size-fits-all cudgel.

In his letter, Trump said the 50% tariff was needed to “have the Level Playing Field we must have with your Country” and “to rectify the grave injustices of the current regime.”

Trump also incorrectly said that the United States had a trade deficit with Brazil. For years, the United States has generally maintained a trade surplus with Brazil, including a $650 million surplus in the first three months of 2025, on $20 billion in trade between the two nations, according to the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil.

Trump wrote that the tariffs were also in response to “SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders to US Social Media platforms” and that he had ordered US officials to open a trade investigation into Brazil for “continued attacks on the Digital Trade activities of American Companies.”