Brazil was not the only country targeted for political reasons. India faces a comparable rate for buying Russian oil. Mr Trump warned Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, that recognising a Palestinian state would make trade negotiations “very hard”.

The president typically ties his tariffs to trade policy, but he hit Brazilian products with the highest rate of any country's goods largely due to politics.

Brazilian goods imported by the United States will soon carry one of the highest tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, but that will not likely derail Latin America's largest economy, due to ample exemptions and stronger trade ties with China.