On July 30, US President Donald Trump declared bilateral relations with Brazil a national emergency in order to justify raising import tariffs. In a menacing statement entitled “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva can call him anytime to discuss tariffs and other friction between the countries. "He can talk to me anytime he wants,

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.