Critics say the tariff on Brazil could further erode the Trump administration's credibility as it pursues an aggressive trade agenda.

Economists have been expressing alarm over U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on Aug. 1 — the largest country-specific levy out of the 22 that Trump has rolled out this week.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday levied a 50% tariff against Brazil, which produces more than a third of the world's coffee, citing, in part, the country's treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro,

The 50% tariff that the Trump administration has slapped on Brazilian imports has rattled the global coffee market and could make the price of a cup of coffee in the U.S. jump beyond recent highs.Brazil is the world's largest grower and exporter of coffee,

The president signaled he would seek to use the threat of steep levies to reorient trade and protect his political allies.

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The U.S. dollar rose on Friday, fuelled by upheavals on the global trade landscape, as U.S. President Donald Trump announced more import tariffs, ranging from 35% on neighbouring Canada to plans for blanket levies of 15% or 20% on most trading partners.

Brazil believes it can withstand Trump’s 50 percent tariff, and aides to Lula say he is unlikely to shrink from a confrontation with the White House.