The U.S. imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil yesterday, the highest levy President Trump has applied to another country in his current term.
The U.S. also sanctioned a Brazilian Supreme Court justice overseeing the criminal case against former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally who is accused of orchestrating a coup attempt after losing the 2022 elections.
The moves sharply escalated the crisis between the Trump administration and Brazil, Latin America’s largest nation, and were a clear rebuke of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has publicly defied Trump for weeks.
Trump had threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazil beginning Friday if the country did not drop the charges against Bolsonaro. But he acted earlier, signing an executive order on the new tariffs yesterday.
