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”.

The 50% tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump on many Brazilian products took effect Wednesday, a situation that China is already taking advantage of by opening its market to Brazilian coffee, one of the products most affected by the trade measures.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spoke by phone on Thursday, their offices said, discussing a broad range of topics that included tariffs imposed by the United States on goods from both countries.