Title: Trump Imposes 50% Punitive Tariffs on Brazil, Launches Unfair - Trade Probe
Local - time on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump turned his trade anger towards Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America. He announced a 50% punitive tariff on Brazilian goods exported to the US and ordered an investigation into "unfair trade practices", which may lead to higher tariffs. The new tariff will take effect on August 1, much higher than the 10% tariff imposed on Brazil on April 2 this year3.
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Trump expressed strong dissatisfaction in a "tariff letter" to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, calling the trial of Lula's right - wing predecessor Jair Bolsonaro a "political witch - hunt". He also attacked the Brazilian government for "attacking free elections and freedom of speech" and for issuing "secret and illegal censorship orders" against US social media platforms. As a result, Trump instructed the Office of the United States Trade Representative to launch an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, and the investigation results may lead to more tariffs on Brazilian exports.
This tough move against Brazil comes on the eve of the Trump administration's agreement with the EU, the US's largest trading partner. Meanwhile, Trump also announced on his self - created platform Truth Social that from August 1, a new round of tariffs would be imposed on seven smaller trading partners: 20% on Philippine products, 30% on products from Sri Lanka, Algeria, Iraq and Libya, and 25% on Brunei and Moldova. Although these countries account for a small proportion of the US's overall trade deficit, Brazil is the 15th - largest trading partner of the US, with a total bilateral trade volume of $92 billion in 2024, and the US even has a rare $7.4 - billion surplus with Brazil. Nevertheless, Trump still used the wording from the previous template letter in his letter to Lula, claiming that the trade relationship between the US and Brazil is "extremely unfair". These rapidly introduced tariff measures cast a shadow over the global economic outlook and seriously disrupt business decision - making.
