Key points
- Trump sends tariff letters to Philippines, Iraq, Sri Lanka, others
- EU and US nearing trade agreement, says EU trade chief Sefcovic
- EU seeks protections for auto industry in complex talks
ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump launched his global tariff assault into overdrive on Wednesday, announcing a new 50 per cent tariff on US copper imports and a 50 per cent duty on goods from Brazil, both to start on August 1.
“I am announcing a 50% TARIFF on Copper, effective August 1, 2025, after receiving a robust NATIONAL SECURITY ASSESSMENT,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social media platform, a reference to a “Section 232” national security trade investigation into the red metal that has been underway.
According to Reuters, the announcement came hours after he also informed Brazil that its “reciprocal” tariff on August 1 would rise to 50 per cent from 10 per cent, a shockingly high level for a country with a balanced US trade relationship.
In a letter addressed to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Trump criticised the treatment of his right-wing ally Jair Bolsonaro as an “international disgrace.”
Bolsonaro is facing trial over accusations he plotted a coup after his narrow 2022 election loss to Lula.
In response to Trump’s tariff letter, Lula warned of possible reciprocation, writing on X that “any unilateral tariff increases will be addressed in light of the Brazilian Law of Economic Reciprocity.”
In light of the public statement made by U.S. President Donald Trump on social media on the afternoon of Wednesday (9), it is important to highlight the following:
Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions and will not accept any form of tutelage.
The judicial…
— Lula (@LulaOficial) July 9, 2025
Brazil earlier on Wednesday said it had summoned the US charge d’affaires over Trump’s previous criticism of the Bolsonaro trial, according to AFP.
The 50 per cent US tariff on Brazilian goods will take effect August 1, Trump said in his letter, mirroring a deadline which dozens of other economies face.
On that same date, a 50 per cent tariff on US imports of copper — a key metal used in green energy and other technologies — will take effect, Trump announced Wednesday evening on social media.
He said the move followed a “robust NATIONAL SECURITY ASSESSMENT,” likely alluding to a Department of Commerce investigation into copper launched earlier this year.
“Copper is the second most used material by the Department of Defense!” Trump said.
Escalation threats
Trump’s message to Lula was the latest in more than 20 such letters the US president has released since Monday, after repeatedly threatening to simply decide a rate for countries as negotiations continue over his elevated “reciprocal” tariffs.
Brazil had not been among those threatened previously with duties above a 10 per cent baseline, and the United States runs a goods trade surplus with Brazil.
On Wednesday, Trump also addressed letters to leaders of the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Moldova, spelling out duties ranging from 20 per cent to 30 per cent that would also take effect on August 1, according to AFP.
Similar to a first batch of documents published Monday, the levels were not too far from those originally threatened in April, although some partners received notably lower rates this time.
Deadline postponed
While Trump in April imposed a 10 per cent levy on almost all trading partners, he unveiled — and then withheld — higher rates for dozens of economies.
The deadline for those steeper levels to take effect was meant to be Wednesday, before Trump postponed it further to August 1.
Countries that faced the threats of elevated duties began receiving letters spelling out US tariff rates on their products.
Trump has sent tariff letters to the Philippines, Iraq, Sri Lanka, and others. The European Union (EU) and the US are nearing a trade agreement, according to EU trade chief. The bloc has sought protections for the auto industry in complex talks.
