On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that imposes an additional 40 percent tariff on products imported from Brazil, increasing the total trade duties to 50 percent, according to an announcement from the White House.
Gatekeepers News reports that the action follows Trump’s earlier threat against Brazil, which he has criticized for a “witch hunt” aimed at his political ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
The Brazilian government’s “politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of (Bolsonaro) and thousands of his supporters are serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil,” the White House said in a fact sheet announcing the move.
It also cited Brazil’s “unusual and extraordinary policies and actions harming US companies, the free speech rights of US persons, US foreign policy, and the US economy,” and singled out Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre Moraes — overseeing the trial against Bolsonaro — by name.
It did not state what date the tariffs would come into efect, but Trump had previously cited August 1.
Brazil has been bracing for a virtual embargo on its planes, grains and crude oil under the move, which brushes aside centuries-old ties and a US trade surplus that Brasilia put at $284 million in 2024.
The political nature of the spat seems to make a last-minute deal less likely.
Brazil has insisted the case against Bolsonaro will go ahead unless prosecutors decide otherwise.
