President Donald Trump announced a blanket 50% tariff on imports from Brazil, citing his anger over the country’s treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Trump’s tariffs would be imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, a White House official said. Trump’s interpretation of his powers under that law is at the center of an ongoing lawsuit over his “reciprocal” tariffs. United States President Donald Trump speaks to the Press before departs at the White House to Alligator Alcatraz, Florida on July 1, 2025, in Washington DC. Celal Gunes | Anadolu | Getty Images
President Donald Trump‘s politically charged new tariff threat — a blanket 50% duty on imports from Brazil — stretches an interpretation of his powers that is already facing a high-stakes court challenge.
Trump said in a letter Wednesday that