President Trump implemented a 50% tariff on goods imported from Brazil on Wednesday, saying that the punishing levy is retaliation for the country’s trial against former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Mr. Trump signed an order that increases Brazil’s tariff by 40% above its current levels. The tariffs go into effect on Friday. 

The order accuses the Brazilian government of “serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil.” 

“Members of the government of Brazil are also politically persecuting a former President of Brazil, which is contributing to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Brazil to politically motivated intimidation in the country and to human rights abuses,” the order said. 

Earlier this month, Mr. Trump had threatened the high tariff in a letter he sent to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is Mr. Bolsonaro’s main political opponent. In that letter, Mr. Trump decried the treatment of Mr. Bolsonaro.

In a response to Mr. Trump’s tariff decree, Mr. da Silva vowed that his country will match any tariffs imposed on Brazil’s exports to the U.S. with reciprocal levies on American goods.

Mr. da Silva stressed that Brazil is “a sovereign country with independent institutions and will not accept any tutelage.” 

Mr. Trump has long decried Brazil’s treatment of Mr. Bolsonaro, a vocal ally of the U.S. president, who is standing trial over his role in an alleged coup to overturn his 2022 reelection loss. Mr. Trump has described the criminal case against Mr. Bolsonaro “an international disgrace” and slammed the trial as a “witch hunt,” echoing the same language he used to describe the multiple criminal investigations he faced before winning the 2024 election.

A long list of Brazilian products are exempt from the tariffs, including orange juice and aircraft parts that benefit Embraer, a Brazilian plane maker that has more than 2,000 employees working at its U.S. operations. 

The U.S. is Brazil’s second-largest trade partner after China. The tariff hike from a rate 10% to 50% would harm the South American nation’s economy, if Brazil can’t reach a deal with the U.S.  

The U.S. had a trade surplus with Brazil of $7.4 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. 

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.