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

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

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.