Overview

• Trump’s letters formalize 50% additional duties on all Brazilian exports and copper, and 35% on Canadian goods, effective August 1, 2025.
• The Brazil tariff responds to prosecutions of former president Jair Bolsonaro, whom Trump has decried as the victim of an international “witch hunt.”
• A 50% surcharge on copper imports is justified on national security grounds, with the metal cited as vital to Defense Department systems.
• Canada received a 35% levy in retaliation for its own duties, and both Ottawa and Brasília have vowed to defend their trade interests as the Brazilian real slid over 2%.
• Washington warned that any countermeasures will trigger equivalent U.S. tariff increases and has signaled plans to send a similar letter to the European Union soon.