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”.

When US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 50 percent on Brazilian exports in July, acai producer Ailson Ferreira Moreira felt immediately concerned.After all, who was going to eat all of that Amazon berry,

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.