In a move seen by many – including Brazil’s president – as an attack on the country’s sovereignty, the US president, Donald Trump, announced on Wednesday that he intends to impose an additional 50% tariff on Latin America’s largest country from 1 August.
Not only was this the highest rate among this week’s announcements – and aimed at a country with which the US has maintained a trade surplus for 17 years – but the letter sent to the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, also stood out for its intemperate tone, in contrast to the standard format adopted in letters to other countries.
