Trade. Customs duties: 24 hours before the EU, already 50% on Brazilian products

Seven days after Donald Trump signed the decree, the planned 50% tariffs on Brazilian products came into effect this Wednesday.

While Brazil was initially not expected to be affected by customs duties beyond the 10% floor now applying to a large proportion of products imported into the United States, the American president had announced his intention to impose a 50% surcharge, the highest applied to a particular country.

The reason? He blames the Brazilian justice system for prosecuting former President Jair Bolsonaro, accused of an attempted coup after his defeat in the 2022 presidential election, and who has been under house arrest since Monday .

These prosecutions, described by Donald Trump as a "witch hunt," also led to US sanctions against one of the judges of the Brazilian Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraes.

While the customs duties sparked a strong reaction from Brasilia, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva denouncing an attack on his country's "sovereignty," the Brazilian capital played down the impact of the surcharge.

Donald Trump's executive order provides exemptions for several hundred products, from nuts to energy, including the aeronautics industry and orange juice. Ultimately, only 36% of the country's exports to the United States are actually affected, according to the Brazilian government.

This tariff increase on Brazilian products comes 24 hours before the tariff increase that is expected to affect all of the United States' major trading partners. Several dozen countries are expected to see the surcharges applied to their products entering the United States increase significantly, with a range of 11% to 41%, with Syria being the country targeted by the highest rate.

Some countries are still hoping to lower their rate, such as Switzerland, which has been hit with a 39% surcharge. They hope to lower this surcharge to bring it closer to the much more advantageous rate offered to products from the European Union (EU), set at 15%.