US President Donald Trump has intensified his global tariff blitz, imposing a steep 50 per cent import duty on Brazil while expanding the punitive regime to encompass seven other nations. The measures, announced on Wednesday via official letters and broadcast on Trump's Truth Social platform, are part of a broader campaign to eliminate what he labelled “unfair trade imbalances” harming American interests.
Brazil was singled out for the highest tariff rate, a sharp escalation from the 10 per cent duty imposed in April. Trump said the revised tariff, set to take effect on 1 August, was in part a response to the ongoing legal proceedings against Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, as well as “a very unfair trade relationship”.
Additional tariffs were announced on Algeria, Brunei, Iraq, Libya, Moldova, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, ranging from 20 to 30 per cent. According to the letters sent to their respective governments, Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Sri Lanka will face 30 per cent duties, Brunei and Moldova 25 per cent, and the Philippines 20 per cent.
“This Deficit is a major threat to our Economy and, indeed, our National Security!” Trump wrote in his tariff communiqués. “Please understand that these Tariffs are necessary to correct the many years of Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers, causing these unsustainable Trade Deficits against the United States.”
This latest move follows closely on the heels of Trump’s 25 per cent blanket tariff on all imports from South Korea and Japan, unveiled on Monday. The Republican leader described the decision as “overdue”, insisting the rate was “far less” than what was needed to close the persistent US trade deficits with both nations.
As part of his aggressive trade policy, Trump also announced forthcoming tariffs on a further twelve countries, including Myanmar, Laos, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Tunisia, Indonesia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bangladesh, Serbia, Cambodia, and Thailand. These declarations suggest that the US administration’s trade war is far from abating, with more countries bracing for economic reprisals.
Also read: Trump threatens 10% extra tariff on nations ‘aligning’ with BRICS
Trump offered a lifeline to manufacturers willing to relocate to the United States, saying companies shifting production to American soil would be exempted from the new tariffs. “It has to be fair and balanced,” he added, signalling a transactional approach to future trade partnerships.
Further ratcheting up his rhetoric, Trump targeted the BRICS grouping, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, accusing them of conspiring to “degenerate” the US dollar and undermine its global standing.
“Anybody that’s in BRICS is getting a 10 per cent charge pretty soon,” Trump declared in remarks at the White House. The following day, he confirmed the imposition of a 10 per cent duty on all BRICS members, including India. “They will certainly have to pay 10 per cent if they are in BRICS because BRICS was set up to hurt us, to degenerate our dollar and take it off as the standard. But that’s ok. If they wanna play that game, I can play that game too,” Trump warned.
“They are trying to destroy the dollar so that another country can be the standard. If you have a smart president, you will never lose the standard. If you have a stupid president like the last one, you will lose the standard. And if we lost the world standard dollar, that would be like losing a world war. We can’t let that happen,” he added.
Trump ended with a stark warning to nations attempting to challenge the dollar’s supremacy. “If anybody is going to challenge the dollar’s place, they will have to pay a big price. I don’t think any of them are going to pay that price.”
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