United States President Donald Trump has continued to publish letters announcing individualised tariff hikes for foreign trading partners.
But on Wednesday, one of those letters was different from the rest.
While most of the letters are virtually identical, denouncing trade relationships that are “far from reciprocal”, Trump’s letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took a decidedly more personal — and more confrontational — approach.
“Due in part to Brazil’s insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans”, Trump wrote that he would be charging Brazil an extra 50-percent tax on any goods it exports to the US, separate from existing “sectoral tariffs”.
“Please understand that the 50% number is far less than what is needed to have the Level Playing Field we must have with your Country,” Trump added. “And it is necessary to have this to rectify the grave injustices of the current regime.”
The letter marked the biggest attack yet in Trump’s escalating feud with Lula, as he seeks to pressure Brazil to drop criminal charges against a fellow far-right leader, Jair Bolsonaro.
Known as the “Trump of the Tropics”, Bolsonaro, a former army captain, led Brazil for a single term, from 2019 to 2023.
Like Trump, Bolsonaro refused to concede his election loss to a left-wing rival. Like Trump, Bolsonaro also raised questions about the accuracy of the results, including by voicing doubts about electronic voting machines.
And like Trump, Bolsonaro has faced legal repercussions, with court cases weighing whether he could be criminally liable for alleged actions he took to overturn his defeat.
In Bolsonaro’s case, the election in question took place in October 2022, against the current president, Lula. The results were narrow, but Lula edged Bolsonaro out in a run-off race, earning 50.9 percent of the vote.
Still, Bolsonaro did not acknowledge his defeat and instead filed a legal complaint to contest the election results.
Meanwhile, his followers attacked police headquarters, blocked highways, and even stormed government buildings in the capital, Brasilia, in an apparent attempt to spark a military backlash against Lula.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, have accused Bolsonaro of conspiring with allies behind the scenes to stage a coup d’etat, one that might have seen Supreme Court justices arrested and a new election called.
According to the indictment, Bolsonaro, as the outgoing president, considered provoking these changes by calling a “state of siege”, which would have empowered the military to take action.
One of the other possibilities reportedly discussed was poisoning Lula.
Bolsonaro and 33 others were charged in February, and the ex-president’s case is ongoing before the Brazilian Supreme Court.
The charges came as the result of a federal police investigation published in November 2024, which recommended a criminal trial. Bolsonaro, however, has denied any wrongdoing and has framed the trial as a politically motivated attack.
Trump himself has faced two criminal indictments – one on the state level, the other federal – for allegedly seeking to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. He, too, called those cases attempts to derail his political career.
In recent days, Trump has highlighted what he sees as parallels between their cases. On July 7, he wrote on social media that he empathised with what was happening to Bolsonaro: “It happened to me, times 10.”
He reprised that theme in Wednesday’s letter, announcing the dramatic increase in tariffs against Brazil.
“The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his term, including by the United states, is an international disgrace,” Trump said.
“This trial should not be taking place,” he added. “It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”
In addition to ramping up tariffs against Brazil, Trump revealed in his letter that he had directed US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to investigate Brazil for unfair practices under the Trade Act of 1974.
This is not the first time that Trump has lashed out at Brazil, though. In February, the Trump Media and Technology Group filed a Florida lawsuit against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, arguing that his decisions curtailed online freedom of speech in the US.
De Moraes had also overseen the investigation into Bolsonaro’s alleged coup attempt, and he is a target of criticism among many on the far right.
While Trump’s tariff letter contained the standard language alleging that the US’s trading relationship with Brazil was “very unfair”, the US actually enjoys a trade surplus with the South American country.
According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, in 2024, the US imported a total of $42.3bn from Brazil. But that was dwarfed by the amount it exported to the country: $49.7bn.
In short, Brazil’s purchases from the US amounted to about $7.4bn more than US purchases from Brazil.
Still, Trump has cited uneven trade relationships as the motivation for his tariffs, though he has also used them to influence other countries’ policies, particularly with regards to immigration, digital services and transnational drug smuggling.
On Wednesday, Bolsonaro took to social media to once again proclaim his innocence. In a separate case, he was barred from holding public office in Brazil for a period of eight years.
“Jair Bolsonaro is persecuted because he remains alive in the popular consciousness,” the ex-president wrote in the third person. “Even out of power, he remains the most remembered name – and the most feared. That’s why they try to annihilate him politically, morally, and judicially.”
He also reposted a message from Trump himself: “Leave the Great Former President of Brazil alone. WITCH HUNT!!!”
Lula, meanwhile, responded to Trump’s previous tariff threats on Monday by saying, “The world has changed. We don’t want an emperor.”
