06:19 AM EDT, 07/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods, effective Aug. 1, citing legal action against its former President Jair Bolsonaro and other reasons.

In a letter posted on Truth Social, Trump alleged that his current Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is undertaking a "witch hunt that should end immediately" over charges against Bolsonaro, who is facing a trial for allegedly trying to stage a coup against Lula.

"We have had years to discuss our trading relationship with Brazil, and have concluded that we must move away from the longstanding, and very unfair trade relationship engendered by Brazil's tariff, and non-tariff, policies and trade barriers," Trump wrote. "Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal."