The 50% customs tariffs imposed on much of the goods imported from Brazil went into effect one minute after midnight Tuesday into Wednesday (local time; at 07:01 GMT), seven days after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order providing for the measure.

While Brazil was initially not going to face additional customs duties above the 10% now applied to much of the products imported into the US market, President Trump then announced his intention to raise them to 50% – a level higher than any other country.

The Republican expressed anger over the prosecution of Brazil’s right-wing former president Jaix Bolsonaro by the Brazilian judiciary for “attempting a coup” after his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.

The prosecution, which Mr Trump calls a “witch hunt”, also led to US sanctions being imposed on Brazil’s federal supreme court judge Alessandre Ji Morais.

Mr Bolsonaru was also placed under house arrest the day before yesterday (Monday) for “repeatedly” violating the ban on expressing himself through social networking sites during the proceedings against him.

Although the customs duties have provoked a strong reaction in Brasilia, with President Luis Inácio Lula da Silva denouncing a US attack on his country’s “national sovereignty”, his government seems to be downplaying the backlash they will have.

In part because Donald Trump’s executive order provides exemptions for categories of goods, from orange juice to energy through the aerospace industry.

However other key sectors, such as coffee, will suffer 50% tariffs.

According to the Brazilian government, however, only 36% of the products the country exports to the US market are subject to the new customs duties.