Trump announces 50% tariff on Brazil, citing Bolsonaro trial

PRESIDENT Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a 50% tariff on all Brazilian goods, marking a sharp escalation in a diplomatic feud over Brazil’s prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro over his alleged role in a plot to retain power by military force following his 2022 electoral loss.

- THE WASHINGTON POST

The tariff, effective August 1, opens anew theater in Trump’s ongoing trade war, bringing into the fray Latin America’s largest economy, which had until now remained largely unscathed by the trade measures. If carried out, the tariff would severely affect the Brazilian economy, whose second-largest trading partner is the United States, behind China. In 2024, Brazil sold $40 billion (R711bn) worth of goods - primarily oil, coffee and steel - to the United States.

“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 wrote Wednesday in a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”

The Brazilian president rebutted all of Trump’s claims on Wednesday and threatened to retaliate against any new tariffs.

“Any measure that unilaterally elevates tariffs will be responded to by the Brazilian law of economic reciprocity,’ Lula said Wednesday evening. “Sovereignty, respect and the intransigent defense of the Brazilian people's interests are the values that guide our relationship with the world.”