WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he planned to impose a steep 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil as he accused the South American country of carrying out a "witch hunt" in the prosecution of Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.
It marks the highest tariff rate Trump announced in a flurry of letters to more than 20 countries this week before a new Aug. 1 deadline, when he said the higher tariffs would go into effect.
Trump, in a July 9 letter to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called the Brazilian President's treatment of Bolsonaro "an international disgrace." He said the higher U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods are "due in part to Brazil's insidious attacks on Free Elections and the Fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans." He accused Brazil's Supreme Court of issuing hundreds of "SECRET and UNLAWFUL censorship orders" threatening American social media companies.
Trump also cited Brazil's "very unfair trade relationship" with the United States, mirroring the criticism he has leveled at other nations.
More: 'No extensions will be granted': Trump vows new tariff deadline is a firm one
