Trump imposed a fifty percent tariff on Brazil

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump has imposed a fifty percent tariff on most Brazilian goods to combat what he called a "witch hunt" against former president Jair Bolsonaro, but excluded sectors such as aircraft, energy, and orange juice, Reuters reported.

This came as a relief to many in Brasilia, who, since Trump announced the tariff, have been calling for the protection of major exporters. Shares of aircraft manufacturer Embraer and pulp producer Suzano rose.

"We are not facing the worst-case scenario," Brazilian Finance Minister Rogerio Ceron told reporters. "This is a more benign outcome than it could have been."
In Trump's executive order, the White House linked the tariffs to the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who is being tried on charges of plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 election defeat.

The executive order came after the United States also announced sanctions against a Brazilian Supreme Court judge overseeing Bolsonaro's trial, accusing him of approving arbitrary pre-trial detentions and stifling freedom of expression.

Nevertheless, Trump's executive order formalizing the fifty percent tariff excluded dozens of key Brazilian exports to the United States, including civilian aircraft, pig iron, precious metals, wood pulp, energy, and fertilizers.

Among the main concerns of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government were aircraft produced by Embraer, which exports 45% of its commercial aircraft and 70% of its luxury aircraft to the US.

Analysts had also warned of a serious potential impact on Suzano, one of the world's largest producers of wood pulp.

Embraer shares rose eleven percent in Sao Paulo, and Suzano's by more than one percent in afternoon trading.

Former Brazilian Trade Minister Welber Barral warned that it is too early to celebrate. He estimated that the list of Brazilian products exported to the United States contains approximately 3,000 items, and only a portion of them received exemptions.

"There will be an impact," he said about the tariffs. The executive order does not include exemptions for beef or coffee, two key exports to the United States, he noted.

The Brazilian meat packing lobby Abiec, which represents beef producers including JBS and Marfrig, did not immediately comment on Wednesday's executive order. On Tuesday, the group stated that the new tariffs would make sales to the US "unsustainable".

Despite the wording exempting "energy and energy products" from tariffs, energy companies operating in Brazil have suspended oil shipments to the United States, citing uncertainty, the industry group IBP told Reuters.