Washington.President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States would impose a 50 percent tariff on all imports from Brazil, after a public altercation this week with his Brazilian counterpart, who called him “emperor.”
In a letter, Trump linked the tariffs to Brazil's treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial on charges of plotting a coup.
The taxes were imposed"due in part to Brazil's insidious attacks on free elections and Americans' fundamental rights to free speech," Trump said in the letter posted on his Truth Social platform.
The Brazilian real deepened earlier losses, falling more than 2 percent against the dollar following the announcement.
The United States is Brazil's second-largest trading partner, after China, and the tariffs represent a significant increase from the 10 percent announced in April.
Trump's letter states that the 50 percent tariff will begin on August 1 and will be independent of all sectoral tariffs.
Trump also ordered U.S. Trade Representative James Greer to launch an investigation into what he called unfair trade practices by Brazil, particularly the digital commerce of U.S. companies.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had been defiant at the close of the summit on Monday, responding to reporters who asked him about Trump's tariff threats.
“The world has changed. We don’t want an emperor,” he said.
“We are sovereign nations,” Lula added. “If he thinks he can impose tariffs, other countries have the right to impose tariffs as well.”
“Witch hunt” against Bolsonaro
Tensions between the United States and Brazil escalated on Wednesday after Brazil's Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. Embassy's chargé d'affaires over a statement defending former President Jair Bolsonaro, a source told Reuters.
Almost simultaneously, Trump, speaking to reporters at an event with West African leaders at the White House, said Brazil “has not been good to us, not good at all,” adding that the tariffs would be based on “very, very substantial facts” and past history.
The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia confirmed Wednesday that Gabriel Escobar, its chargé d'affaires, had a meeting with officials from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but declined to provide details about the conversation.
The Brazilian ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump had said in a social media post on Monday that former President Bolsonaro, who is on trial for plotting a coup to prevent Lula from taking office in January 2023, was the victim of a"witch hunt."
“The political persecution of Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and his supporters is shameful and disrespectful of Brazil’s democratic traditions,” the U.S. Embassy press office said in a statement in Portuguese.
