Topline
President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil—the highest rate he has announced since he began announcing new levies this week in letters on social media—directly citing the country’s ongoing prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who he called a “highly respected leader,” as an “international disgrace.”
The steep tariff was announced days after Trump said BRICS had “Anti-American policies.”
Key Facts
Bolsonaro, the former right-wing president of Brazil, is set to face trial for an attempted coup after his defeat in the country’s 2022 presidential election.
“It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY,” the president wrote in the letter addressed to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, echoing a familiar phrase he has used to describe trials against Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and the various prosecutions against himself before his reelection.
Trump has previously praised Bolsonaro, writing on his Truth Social platform “the only Trial that should be happening is a Trial by the Voters of Brazil”—but Bolsonaro was also banned from running for election again until 2030.
Trump’s letter also criticized Brazil’s Supreme Court, which he accused of issuing “hundreds of SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders to U.S. Social Media platforms, threatening them with Millions of Dollars in Fines and Eviction from the Brazilian Social Media market”—possibly referring to the orders issued by a Brazilian justice against Elon Musk’s X platform in 2024.
The rest of the letter had similar text to the letters he addressed to other foreign leaders earlier this week, but also accused Brazil of maintaining a trade relationship with the U.S. that was “far from Reciprocal.”
How Has Brazil Responded?
Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said he saw “no reason” for the tariff hike and said Trump was “misinformed” about the prosecution of Bolsonaro, the Associated Press reported.
Tangent
Earlier this week, Trump threatened an additional 10% tariff on countries that align with BRICS, the bloc of economies that include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and other nations, calling their policies “anti-American.”
Key Background
Trump began posting letters sent to individual nations announcing new tariff rates earlier this week, while simultaneously postponing the enactment of his “Liberation Day” tariffs again until August and encouraging nations to reach trade deals with the U.S. Trump announced several other tariffs Wednesday, including levies against Libya, Iraq, the Philippines, Algeria, Brunei, Moldova and Sri Lanka. Before the Brazil announcement, the highest rates in the new batch of tariffs were levied against Laos and Myanmar—both at 40%.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
