Trump to Hit Brazil With 50 Percent Tariff; Rubio Meets Russian Foreign Minister in Malaysia

President Donald Trump singled out Brazil for import tariffs of 50 percent on Wednesday for its treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is charged with trying to overturn his 2022 election loss. “This Trial should not be taking place,” Trump wrote in the letter posted on Truth Social. “It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva responded that Trump’s tariffs would trigger the country’s economic reciprocity law, which allows trade, investment, and intellectual property agreements to be suspended against countries that harm Brazil’s competitiveness.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Malaysia on Thursday, as Russia continues to intensify its attacks on Ukraine. It was their second in-person meeting….