Trump Administration Initiates Trade Investigation of Brazil

The Trump administration initiated a trade investigation of Brazil on Tuesday, an action President Trump threatened last week as he criticized the country’s unfair trade practices and “witch hunt” against his political ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro.

The investigation will seek to determine whether certain policies and actions by the Brazilian government are unreasonable or have hurt U.S. businesses, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said in an announcement. The actions under investigation include the tariffs Brazil levies on American products, the country’s digital trade policies, the access it provides to its ethanol market and “anti-corruption interference,” among others, it said.

The announcement unleashed one of the United States’ most potent trade weapons on Brazil, escalating a sudden dispute that has renewed debates about the extent of Mr. Trump’s tariff powers and his interference in other countries’ politics.

Mr. Trump already said in a letter that he planned to impose a 50 percent tariff on all Brazilian imports, one of dozens of letters that he posted threatening steep tariffs that go into effect Aug. 1. But unlike other letters, the missive to Brazil complained about the country’s policies that discriminate against American tech companies and lambasted Brazil for its treatment of Mr. Bolsonaro, who is facing trial for attempting a coup.

In the letter, which was posted on social media, Mr. Trump said that the way Brazil had treated Mr. Bolsonaro was “an international disgrace,” and that the new tariffs would take effect on Aug. 1. He also promised to initiate the trade investigation.

Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, said Tuesday that he was beginning the investigation “into Brazil’s attacks on American social media companies as well as other unfair trading practices that harm American companies, workers, farmers and technology innovators.”