Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on Brazil to drop criminal charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro, saying he would be “watching closely” for a response just a week after threatening to impose punishing tariffs on the South American nation.

If implemented, the sanctions against supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes would dramatically escalate a widening feud between the United States and Brazil.

Tensions between the United States and Brazil are growing fast. At the center of it all is Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, and Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro.

After much back-and-forth over several months, President Donald Trump announced on July 9, 2025, that he planned to levy a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports to the United States. While Brazilian authorities,

Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on all Brazilian goods, escalating a feud over Brazil’s prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil vowed to retaliate.

Donald Trump has proposed huge levies on Brazil, prompting an outspoken response from the CEO of Embraer, which builds vital regional airliners.

Brazil is Florida’s biggest international trading partner for buying what the Sunshine State sells, and tariffs might make orange juice prices soar.

For many countries, the reprieve from President Donald Trump’s eye-watering global tariffs, which were first announced on April 2 and temporarily reduced to 10% a week later, is soon set to come to an end.