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”.

Latin America’s biggest economy can weather the shock of a high tariff rate. But American coffee lovers and Brazilian ranchers are likely to feel the pain.

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.