Overview

• President Trump will impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports and 30% duties on goods from the European Union and Mexico starting August 1 unless new trade deals are reached.
• The administration is invoking Section 232 emergency powers to justify the measures as vital to national security and U.S. manufacturing resilience.
• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has vowed matching 50% tariffs on U.S. exports in retaliation for the planned duties.
• Legal challenges are mounting from states and trade groups arguing that the president lacks unilateral authority for such sweeping tariffs.
• The White House is also exploring whether President Trump can fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over alleged cost overruns in the Fed’s Washington headquarters renovation.