Trump threatens Brazil with 50% tariffs

He accused Brazil's current president Lula of leading a 'witch hunt' against far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro

President Donald Trump Wednesday announced plans to impose a 50% tariff on all Brazilian imports, in part due to the treatment of its far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro. In a letter posted on social media, Trump accused Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of leading a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro, who is facing prosecution over his alleged role in a plot to overturn the country's 2022 election. The threatened tariffs on Brazil, Latin America's biggest economy, would be the highest yet imposed on any nation by the Trump administration.

In his letter to the Brazilian president, commonly known as Lula, Trump blasted the treatment of his ally Bolsonaro as an "international disgrace" and said his trial "should end IMMEDIATELY!" In response, Lula said Brazil would "not accept being abused by anyone."