Donald Trump imposes 50% tariff on Brazil over 'witch hunt'

Donald Trump has imposed a 50 percent tariff on Brazil starting August 1, accusing it of curbing free speech, the Financial Times reports. In a letter published on the social media site Truth on Wednesday, Trump blamed the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for its treatment of Brazil's former right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro. Trump said Bolsonaro was a"highly respected leader around the world during his tenure," and denounced the case against him as a "witch hunt that must end IMMEDIATELY!" Trump added that the tariff would be imposed "in part" because of Brazil's "vicious attacks on free elections and the fundamental right to free speech of Americans."

The Brazilian president signaled that his country was ready to respond, using a law that allows Brazil to take retaliatory measures against trade barriers imposed on its exports."Any unilateral increase in tariffs will be met under Brazil's economic reciprocity law," Lula da Silva said."Brazil is a sovereign state with independent institutions that will not accept anyone's control."

OpenAI will release its own web browser

OpenAI is close to launching an artificial intelligence-powered web browser, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the matter. The browser, which will be released in the coming weeks, aims to use AI to fundamentally change the way people use the internet. The browser is designed to have some of its user interactions happen within a ChatGPT-like chat interface rather than navigating websites, two of the people said, and is part of OpenAI’s broader strategy to embed its services into users’ personal and professional lives. The browser will also allow OpenAI to directly integrate its AI agents, allowing it to perform tasks on a user’s behalf. OpenAI decided to create its own browser, rather than just a plug-in to another browser, to have more control over the data it can collect, one of the people said.