Trump slapped a 50% tariff on Brazil, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country would respond.

Donald Trump threatened to impose a 50% tariff on Brazil over its domestic political affairs, the most extreme case yet of the US president weaponizing trade policy to make unrelated demands.

The exchange with the South American nation suggests the U.S. president also sees trade as a tool to influence other policies of foreign countries.

In a letter to Brazilian President Lula da Silva, Trump declared a 50% tariff on all imports from Brazil, warning that any retaliatory tariff increases would be added to the initial 50%.

"America will, once again, build a DOMINANT Copper Industry," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social media platform.

President Trump's announcement that the U.S. will stick a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods whacked some of the country's

The U.S. dollar stabilised on Thursday after retreating from a two-week high versus major peers, as markets took U.S. President Donald Trump's latest tariff salvos in their stride, except in Brazil where a threatened 50% levy sent the real sliding.

President Trump will wield 50% copper tariffs on August 1 as he promises more to come with countries such as Brazil in the crosshairs. Nvidia scores the first $4 trillion market cap milestone, lifting the Nasdaq to a record.