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, which he referred to as an “international disgrace” and a “witch hunt.”
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.
Trump’s letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva 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.
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.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2025/07/09/trump-slaps-brazil-with-50-tariff-while-criticizing-prosecution-of-former-president/