Economists have been expressing alarm over U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on Aug. 1 — the largest country-specific levy out of the 22 that Trump has rolled out this week.

The president signaled he would seek to use the threat of steep levies to reorient trade and protect his political allies.

Critics say the tariff on Brazil could further erode the Trump administration's credibility as it pursues an aggressive trade agenda.

One of the highest tariffs threatened by President Trump so far is against Brazil, with the president citing a criminal prosecution against Jair Bolsonaro.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday levied a 50% tariff against Brazil, which produces more than a third of the world's coffee, citing, in part, the country's treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro,

Brazil believes it can withstand Trump’s 50 percent tariff, and aides to Lula say he is unlikely to shrink from a confrontation with the White House.

Brazil’s leftwing president is standing firm against Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariff threat, as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seizes the confrontation with Washington to revive his re-election prospects.