US President Donald Trump has escalated his global trade pressure on Wednesday, threatening Brazil with a "crippling" 50% tariff on its goods beginning August 1, CNN reported.
The move, outlined in a letter sent to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and posted on Truth Social, explicitly links the punitive economic measure to ongoing charges against Brazil's former right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro.
In his letter, Trump asserted that Lula is undertaking a "Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!" in reference to Bolsonaro's trial for allegedly attempting to stage a coup against Lula.
This marks a notable departure from the rationale behind other tariffs announced by the Trump administration this week. Unlike the 21 other countries that received similar letters, Brazil was not slated for "reciprocal" tariffs in April, having already faced a minimum 10% tariff. Furthermore, the US ran a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year, meaning the US exported more goods to Brazil than it imported.
Despite his strong discontent with the Bolsonaro trial, Trump’s letter to Lula offered a pathway to avoid the tariffs: "there will be no Tariff if Brazil, or companies within your Country, decide to build or manufacture product within the United States." This offer mirrors near-identical proposals made in other letters dispatched this week to various heads of state.
Other nations receiving tariff notices on Wednesday, with rates as high as 30% on their goods shipped to the US, included the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Brunei, Algeria, Libya, and Iraq.
The initial deadline for countries to finalize trade deals or face higher tariff rates, set three months ago for July 9, was extended by Trump on Monday to August 1.
Brazilian prosecutors have blamed Bolsonaro's statements against the country's voting system for a violent invasion of the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in January of 2023 by supporters angry about Bolsonaro’s electoral loss to da Silva.
In June of that year, a Brazilian court barred Bolsonaro from holding public office for eight years.
Bolsonaro was also accused of embezzlement last year, for allegedly misappropriating jewelry he received while head of state, including luxury items given by the Saudi Arabian government.
In March, Brazil's Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled that Bolsonaro will be placed on trial over the allegations of an attempted coup following his 2022 election defeat.