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.

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.

This was the week Donald Trump revived his global trade war after a three-month pause on the dramatic levies he announced on “liberation day” in early April. The return of the self-styled “tariff man” comes as foreign governments face the prospect of either quickly striking a trade deal with the mercurial US president,

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will keep working toward a new trade framework with the United States despite U.S. President Donald Trump saying he'll raise taxes on many imported good