Brazilian assets face pressure from new US tariffs, but holding broad index trackers may reduce risk amid volatility. See why major Brazilian ETFs are a hold.

President Donald Trump announced a blanket 50% tariff on imports from Brazil, citing his anger over the country's treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Trump's tariffs would be imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act,

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

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.

The U.S. dollar rose on Friday, fuelled by upheavals on the global trade landscape, as U.S. President Donald Trump announced more import tariffs, ranging from 35% on neighbouring Canada to plans for blanket levies of 15% or 20% on most trading partners.

Blunt letters dictating terms posted to social media and changes late in negotiations have left trading partners wondering what President Trump will do next.

Is Donald Trump willing to punish consumers because he hopes to shield Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro from legal accountability? Actually, yes.

By Luciana Magalhaes and Ricardo Brito BRASILIA (Reuters) -When U.S. President Donald Trump linked 50% tariffs on Brazil to the trial against his ally, the country's former far-right leader, Washington left Latin America's largest economy with few options to deescalate but may have overestimated the country's vulnerability to the levies.