President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he planned to hit Brazil with a 50% tariff, in part due to the treatment of its former president and his political ally, Jair Bolsonaro.

President Donald Trump sent out a slew of letters Wednesday to some global trading partners, advising them of tariff levels as high as 50% for their exports to the United States.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday informed seven more nations about new tariffs, singling out Brazil with a 50% duty because of what he called the "disgrace" of how former President Jair Bolsonaro has been treated.

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump turned his trade ire against Brazil on Wednesday (Jul 10), threatening Latin America's largest economy with a punitive 50 per cent tariff on exports to the US and ordering an unfair trade practices investigation that could lead to even higher tariffs.

Talks with the European Union are of particular interest, as the bloc trades even more with the U.S. than China.

Trump avoided his standard form letter with Brazil, specifically tying his tariffs to the trial of Bolsonaro, who is charged with trying to overturn his 2022 election loss. Trump has described Bolsonaro as a friend and hosted the former Brazilian president at his Mar-a-Lago resort when both were in power in 2020.

Brazil said Wednesday it had summoned the US charge d'affaires in a diplomatic row following President Donald Trump's criticism of the coup trial of his right-wing ally, ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro.The foreign ministry in Brasilia told AFP that envoy Gabriel Escobar will be called to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of "political persecution" -- echoing Trump's claims of a "witch hunt" against the 70-year-old Brazilian firebrand.