By T N Ashok
NEW YORK: Just when you thought booming guns went into silence on the tariffs front in the wake of controversies over ending birthright citizenship and stripping citizenship for certain categories of residents, the war on tariffs has come back center stage with the new steep levies on Brazil, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka and some others, all major exporters of goods to the USA.
Trump imposed steep 50% tariffs on Brazil with a rider accusing the local authorities there of unfairly charging his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been charged with attempting a coup. He compared Bolsonaro’s trial to the alleged witch-hunt against him in the US last year before he won the 2024 elections. He said he was watching with interest the criminal witch hunt of Bolsonaro, for which President Lula da Silva accused him of bullying him and interfering in the sovereignty of the courts.
The 50 percent tariff President Trump proposed for Brazil is by far the highest rate witnessed on a significant trading partner. The United States imported $42 billion in goods from Brazil last year, including fuel, machinery, metals and aircraft. President Trump dropped the form letter approach that he has used 21 times so far this week and wrote a letter that scolded Brazil’s current government.
President Trump posted letters on social media informing the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Brunei, Libya, Iraq and Algeria that they should prepare for double-digit tariff rates.
This means there are now 20 countries whose exports to the United States will be subject to higher tariffs starting on August 1, unless they can broker a trade deal before the new deadline.
Here’s a full list of the countries and the president’s threatened tariffs.
Tariff rates for select trade partners
Includes country-specific “reciprocal” tariffs
| Trading partner |
Previously threatened |
Newly announced |
Share of U.S. imports |
| Japan | +24% | +25% | 4.5% |
| South Korea | +25% | +25% | 4.0% |
| Thailand | +36% | +36% | 1.9% |
| Malaysia | +24% | +25% | 1.6% |
| Brazil | +10% | +50% | 1.3% |
| Indonesia | +32% | +32% | <1% |
| South Africa | +30% | +30% | <1% |
| Philippines | +17% | +20% | <1% |
| Cambodia | +49% | +36% | <1% |
| Bangladesh | +37% | +35% | <1% |
Sources: White House, Observatory of Economic Complexity
** Previously threatened rates refer to the “reciprocal” tariff rates that were originally imposed on April 1. Brazil was not specifically targeted on April 1 but was subject to a 10 percent global rate.
It is an extraordinary attempt to use trade to influence a criminal trial in a foreign nation. Brazil, the largest of the eight countries that Mr. Trump targeted for tariffs on Wednesday, said it would respond with levies of its own.
President Trump also announced on social media that he plans to impose a 50 percent tariff on imported copper as of August 1 this year after his advisers submitted a report to him arguing that protecting the industry is important for national security. Copper is important for aircraft, ammunition and other defense industries. But it is also heavily used by manufacturers and the construction industry, who will pay significantly higher prices for imports.
The top U.S. diplomat in Brazil, Gabriel Escobar, was summoned twice by Brazil’s foreign ministry on Wednesday. The first meeting came after the U.S. embassy issued a statement criticizing Brazil’s criminal case against former President Jair Bolsonaro. The second came after President Trump posted a letter to President Lula of Brazil that threatened 50 percent tariffs partly because of the Bolsonaro case, according to a Brazilian government official who was quoted by the US media on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation.
Brazilian officials had not yet received the letter and wanted to confirm the threatened tariffs, the official said. When Escobar confirmed them, Brazilian officials told him they were rejecting the letter because it was offensive and inaccurate. Lula then announced that he would reciprocate with similar levies.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil said in a statement that his country would reciprocate against President Trump’s threatened 50 percent tariffs. “Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not accept being abused by anyone,” he said. He added that the attempted coup charges against the former president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro — which Trump said was partly the basis for the new tariffs — “is the sole responsibility of the Brazilian Judiciary.”
President Trump said that he had ordered U.S. officials to open a trade investigation into Brazil for “continued attacks on the Digital Trade activities of American Companies.” He appeared to be referring to complaints from many on the right that Brazil’s Supreme Court has censored conservative voices online.
The Brazilian Supreme Court justice overseeing the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro has also ordered tech companies to take down hundreds of accounts that he said threatened Brazil’s democracy. Mr. Trump’s media company has sued the judge, and Elon Musk at one point refused to comply with his orders, leading to X being temporarily suspended in Brazil.
The quickly escalating dispute has the potential for major economic and political repercussions, especially in Brazil. The United States is Brazil’s second largest trading partner after China.
Trump’s effort to use tariffs to intervene in a criminal trial in a foreign nation is an extraordinary example of how he wields levies as a one-size-fits-all cudgel — and how they can yield economic destruction as a result, political observers said.
Trump said the United States had a trade deficit with Brazil. For years, the United States has generally maintained a trade surplus with Brazil. The two countries had about $92 billion in trade together last year, with the United States enjoying a $7.4 billion surplus in the relationship. The top products traded are aircraft, oil, machinery and iron.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the Brazilian Supreme Court justice, who is overseeing the case against Mr. Bolsonaro, has ordered tech companies to take down hundreds of accounts that he said threatened Brazil’s democracy. His moves have made him a top target of the right in Brazil and the United States.
Mr. Lula said on Wednesday that the Supreme Court is enforcing Brazilian law. “In Brazil, freedom of expression is not to be confused with aggression or violent practices,” he said.
Brazil’s Supreme Court is widely expected to convict Mr. Bolsonaro later this year, potentially leading to prison time. In January, Mr. Bolsonaro told The New York Times that he hoped Mr. Trump would come to his aid. Since then, Mr. Trump’s media company sued Justice Moraes, accusing him of censoring right-wing voices. The confrontation between Trump and Lula has special significance in the context of the coming Presidential elections in Brazil in 2026. The rightwing opposition is divided and Bolsonaro is the only leader who can stand against Lula if he contests again as a candidate. Trump is making all efforts to see that Bolsonaro is cleared of the treason charge for contesting the Presidential polls. (IPA Service)
