Trump Hits Brazil With 40% Tariff Citing ‘National Security’ Concerns

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to implement a 40% tariff on Brazil, bringing the total tariff amount up to 50%. 

The White House said the tariff has been implemented to deal with recent policies, practices, and actions of the Brazilian government, which present a “national security” threat to the U.S. 

It added that Brazil’s unusual and extraordinary policies and actions were harming U.S. companies, the free speech rights of U.S. persons, U.S. foreign policy, and the U.S. economy.

“The Order finds that the Government of Brazil’s politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and thousands of his supporters are serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil,” the White House said.

This comes after Trump had already announced that he plans to implement a 50% tariff on all goods imported from Brazil earlier this month.  Trump had described the case against Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt” and called it an “international disgrace,” while drawing parallels with his own legal battles. 

At the time, current Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had strongly opposed Trump’s tariff threat, threatening to impose matching tariffs on U.S. imports into Brazil if the President followed through with his plan. 

U.S. equity markets were trending higher in afternoon trade after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gained 0.23%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) edged 0.01% higher. The Invesco QQQ Series 1 Trust (QQQ) was up 0.43%. 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around SPY jumped to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ over the past day. Meanwhile, retail sentiment around DIA remained in the ‘bullish’ zone.

Read also: Trump Renews Fed Rate-Cut Pressure After Surprise 3% US GDP Jump

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