After Hitting Seven Nations, Trump Targets Brazil With 50% Tariff Over Bolsonaro Case

Trump Escalates Global Trade Offensive, Hits Brazil With 50% Tariff Over Bolsonaro Trial.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday intensified his global trade crackdown by announcing sweeping new tariffs on eight countries, including a 50% tariff on Brazil — the steepest among them — citing both trade grievances and the ongoing trial of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro.

According to the directives shared via Truth Social and official diplomatic letters, the 50% duty on Brazilian imports — up from 10% in April — will take effect August 1, alongside new tariffs on seven other countries. Trump said the move was intended to address a “very unfair trade relationship” with Brazil, and also called Bolsonaro’s prosecution an “international disgrace.”

“This tariff is necessary to correct unfair trade practices and respond to the persecution of a good man,” Trump wrote, referring to Bolsonaro.

Wider Tariff Blitz Targets 20 Countries
Beyond Brazil, Trump imposed:

• 30% tariffs on imports from Algeria, Iraq, Libya, and Sri Lanka
• 25% on Brunei and Moldova
• 20% on the Philippines

These follow similar actions earlier in the week, when the U.S. slapped 25% tariffs on all imports from Japan and South Korea, accusing both countries of exploiting U.S. markets through unequal trade deals.

In a swift follow-up, the White House expanded the list to include Myanmar, Laos, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Tunisia, Indonesia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bangladesh, Serbia, Cambodia, and Thailand — pushing the total number of targeted countries to 20.

Trump framed the measures as a long-overdue correction to decades of what he termed “unsustainable trade deficits” and non-tariff barriers that he says threaten both the U.S. economy and national security.

“These tariffs are necessary to correct the many years of Tariff and Non-Tariff policies… causing unsustainable trade deficits. This is a major threat to our Economy and, indeed, our National Security!” Trump wrote in identical letters sent to leaders of the targeted countries.

Brics Warning: “10% Tariff Coming Soon”
Trump also turned his focus to the Brics alliance — comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — accusing the bloc of conspiring to weaken the U.S. dollar and undermine American influence on the global stage.

“Anybody that’s in Brics is getting a 10% charge pretty soon,” Trump told reporters at the White House, claiming the alliance was “set up to hurt America.”

The former president accused Brics nations of attempting to “destroy the dollar” and replace it with an alternative reserve currency — a move he equated with an economic act of war.

“If we lost the world standard dollar, that would be like losing a world war. We can’t let that happen,” he said.

Trump confirmed a 10% tariff on all Brics members, including India, would soon be implemented, adding:

“If they wanna play that game, I can play that game too.”

Exemptions and Warnings
Despite the aggressive tone, Trump added that companies relocating their manufacturing to the U.S. could seek exemptions from the new tariffs. However, he warned that any retaliatory trade actions by affected nations would be met with even higher duties, signaling a combative posture ahead of the August 1 enforcement date.