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Trump links tariffs to 'witch hunt' against Bolsonaro

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Lula calls emergency meeting to address new tariffs

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Brazil's real falls over 2% after tariff announcement

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Tariffs may raise U.S. food prices, impacting coffee and

orange

juice imports

(Adds response from Lula in paragraphs 2, 6-8, 19, 21, 22 and

comment from Bolsonaro in paragraph 18)

By Kanishka Singh and Ricardo Brito

WASHINGTON/BRASILIA, July 9 (Reuters) -

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the U.S. would

impose a 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil after a spat this

week with his Brazilian counterpart who called him an unwanted

"emperor."

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired back

on Wednesday, saying new tariffs would be met with reciprocal

measures.

In a letter, Trump linked the tariffs to Brazil's

treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial

over charges of plotting a coup to stop Lula from taking office

in 2023.

The levies were imposed due "in part to Brazil's insidious

attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech

Rights of Americans," the letter said.

Brazil's real currency added to earlier losses to fall over

2% against the dollar after the announcement, and companies such

as planemaker Embraer ( ERJ ) and oil major Petrobras

also suffered setbacks in the stock market.

Lula, his vice-president, his finance minister, and others

held an emergency meeting in Brasilia on Wednesday night to

discuss the new levies.

In a lengthy post to social media after the meeting,

Lula said Trump's accusations that trade between the two

countries was unfair to the U.S. were false, stressing the U.S.

runs a trade surplus against Brazil.

"Sovereignty, respect, and the unwavering defense of the

interests of the Brazilian people are the values that guide our

relationship with the world," Lula wrote.

The U.S. is Brazil's second-largest trading partner after

China and the tariffs are a major increase from the 10%

announced in April. Trump's letter said the 50% tariff will

start August 1 and will be separate from all sectoral tariffs.

On Monday, Lula pushed back against Trump after the U.S.

leader threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on the

BRICS group of developing nations, which he called

"anti-American."

"The world has changed. We don't want an emperor," Lula told

reporters when asked at a BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro about

the possible BRICS tariff.

BOLSONARO 'WITCH HUNT'

Tensions between the United States and Brazil had already

intensified on Wednesday after Brazil's foreign ministry

summoned the U.S. Embassy chargé d'affaires over a statement

defending Bolsonaro.

Around the same time, Trump, speaking to reporters at an

event with West African leaders at the White House, said Brazil

"has not been good to us, not good at all," adding the tariff

rates would be based on "very, very substantial facts" and past

history.

The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia confirmed on Wednesday its

chargé d'affaires had a meeting with officials from Brazil's

foreign ministry, though it declined to share details about the

conversation.

Trump's support for Bolsonaro echoed his support for other

global leaders who have faced domestic legal cases like French

far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump has called cases against those leaders

a "witch hunt," a term he used for cases he faced himself in the

U.S. after the end of his first term in office.

Trump said in a social media post on Monday that

Bolsonaro was the victim of such a "witch hunt." The U.S.

Embassy in Brasilia issued a statement on Wednesday to the local

press echoing his remarks.

"The political persecution of Jair Bolsonaro, his family and

his supporters is shameful and disrespectful of Brazil's

democratic traditions," it said.

In a post on social media, Bolsonaro did not mention Trump,

but said he "is persecuted because he remains alive in the

public consciousness. Even out of power, he remains the most

remembered-and most feared-name."

In his letter, Trump also directed U.S. Trade

Representative James Greer to initiate a probe into what he

called unfair trade practices by Brazil, particularly on U.S.

companies' digital trade. Trump also criticized decisions from

Brazil's Supreme Court that he said censored social media firms.

Brazil's Supreme Court has long been criticized by

Bolsonaro's allies for ordering social media websites to take

down content from leaders of their far-right movement. The court

also imposed more responsibilities on those companies last

month.

In his post on Wednesday, Lula rebuffed Trump's accusations

of a witch hunt and said the case against Bolsonaro was up for

the courts to decide and not subject to any "threats that could

compromise the independence of national institutions."

Lula also defended his country's Supreme Court and its

ruling on social media and said "freedom of expression must not

be confused with aggression or violent practice."

IMPACT ON FOOD EXPORTS

The tariffs on Brazil could have a significant impact on

food prices in the United States. Around a third of the coffee

consumed in the U.S., the world's largest drinker of the

beverage, comes from Brazil, which is the world's largest coffee

grower. Annual Brazilian coffee exports to the U.S. are close to

8 million bags, according to industry groups.

More than half of the orange juice sold in the U.S. comes

from Brazil, which has an 80% share of the juice's global trade.

The South American agricultural powerhouse also sells sugar,

beef and ethanol to the U.S., among other products.

"This measure impacts not only Brazil, but the whole U.S.

juice industry that employs thousands of people and has had

Brazil as its main supplier for decades," said Ibiapaba Netto,

the executive director of Brazilian orange juice industry group

CitrusBR.