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.

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.

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,

President Donald Trump said in a letter that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening a rift between two North American countries that have suffered a debilitating blow to their decades-old alliance.

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.