Trump, Citing 'Witch Hunt,' Slaps Steep Tariff on Brazil

After announcing smaller tariffs on seven smaller countries Wednesday, President Trump declared that imports from Brazil, one of the biggest US trading partners in the Americas, will be hit with a 50% tariff on Aug. 1. Most of Trump's tariff letters have been almost identical, but the letter to Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva posted on Truth Social took a very different tone, attacking Lula over the prosecution of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, the Guardian reports. Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, is on trial on suspicion of plotting a coup after his 2022 election defeat.

• "The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace," Trump wrote. "This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt THAT should end IMMEDIATELY!

• Trump also objected to "insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans," citing what he called "SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders" issued to American social media companies. Brazil blocked X for more than a month last year in a dispute over issues including misinformation.
• The letter shows that "personal grudges rather than simple economics are a driving force in the US leader's use of tariffs," according to the AP.
• Trump wrote that Brazilian trade policies have created "unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States," though the US had a trade surplus with Brazil that totaled $7.4 billion in 2024, CNBC reports. The country sells goods including oil, coffee, orange juice, and iron to the US.
• Trump spoke out on the Bolsonaro prosecution in an earlier Truth Social post. "Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro," he wrote on Wednesday. "I have watched, as has the World, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year! He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE."