Trump imposes 40% tariffs on Brazil and warns India over BRICS

Regarding India, Trump stated that in addition to the previously announced 25% tariffs for Delhi, Indians would have to pay an additional "penalty" for trading with Russia and being a member of the BRICS organization.

"We are negotiating right now and it's also BRICS. BRICS, which is basically a group of countries that are anti the United States and India is a member of that... It is an attack on the dollar and we are not going to let anybody attack the dollar," said the US President.

Trump added that the final outcome of the negotiations would be known very soon — "at the end of this week." According to him, India has very high tariffs, so it will soon become clear — either India signs a trade deal with the US, or Delhi pays for everything, literally.

"We are talking to India now. We will see what happens. It doesn't matter too much whether we have a deal or we charge them a certain tariff. But you will know at the end of this week," the American leader assured.

Blow to Brazil

On July 30, Trump also signed an executive order that, starting August 1, imposes an additional 40% tariff on all goods from Brazil. Combined with the standard 10% tariff, the total tariff rate will amount to 50%.

According to the White House, the reason for this decision was Brazil's political stance. The US administration disagrees with the actions of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva regarding former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is being prosecuted in Brazil for an attempted coup.

Interestingly, shortly before the order was signed, Lula da Silva stated in an interview with The New York Times that Brazil would not be intimidated, despite the risks to the Brazilian economy.

"At no point will Brazil negotiate as if it were a small country up against a big country. We know the economic power of the United Stetes, we recognize the military power of the United States, we recognize the technological size of the United States," he told American journalists.

Tariffs against Russia's allies

Earlier, Trump had already promised to impose tariffs on India. One of the reasons is its trade with Russia. Trump announced that starting August 1, India would pay a 25% tariff on goods, plus additional "penalty" tariffs for trading with Russians. India has already stated its willingness to stop buying Russian oil in the event of US sanctions.

In addition, the US Department of the Treasury warned China, the second-largest buyer of Russian oil, about inevitable consequences. Scott Bessent mocked China's claims that trade with Russia is its sovereign right, saying that in that case, China should pay 100% tariffs and stop complaining.

Brazil is also considered friendly toward Russia, mainly due to Lula da Silva's stance, which is seen as overly favorable toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Moreover, India, China, and Brazil are members of the BRICS organization, against which Trump has declared a full-scale trade war, accusing it of trying to undermine the US dollar. He specifically promised sweeping tariffs on countries supporting BRICS and claimed that "Little Group" is "fading fast".

BRICS is an international organization of the world's largest developing countries by area. While originally created to increase investment potential, it has now evolved into a geopolitical bloc. The founding members are Brazil, Russia, India, and China.