Trump Sends Tariff Letters to 8 More Countries: 25% for Brunei, 20% for the Philippines

On the 9th, U.S. President Trump sent letters to the leaders of eight countries announcing new tariffs, with rates ranging from 20% to 50%. The new rates will take effect starting August 1.

On the 7th, Trump had already sent the first batch of tariff letters to 14 countries, with rates ranging from 25% to 40%. This is the second batch of tariff letters issued by the United States.

The eight countries that have most recently received tariff letters are Brazil, the Philippines, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Algeria, Iraq, and Libya.

Sri Lanka, Algeria, Iraq, and Libya will face 30% tariffs, Brunei and Moldova are at 25%, while the Philippines' rate is 20%.

Brazil, which Trump described as having always been "not so good" to the United States, now faces the highest tariff of 50%. This is far above the 10% tariff imposed on Brazil on April 2, and is the highest among all rates announced so far.

Brazil is the 15th largest trading partner of the United States, with bilateral trade in 2024 reaching $92 billion (about RM 390.9 billion), but the U.S. unusually recorded a $7.4 billion trade surplus.

In the tariff letter to Brazil, Trump begins by expressing sympathy for Brazil’s far-right former president Bolsonaro, claiming that Brazil should immediately stop its “witch-hunt” against him.

Bolsonaro faces accusations of orchestrating a coup to prevent Lula from being inaugurated as president in January 2023.

Trump also ordered the United States Trade Representative to initiate an unfair trade practices investigation into Brazilian policies under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. This investigation could lead to additional U.S. tariffs on Brazilian exports.

Meanwhile, on the 9th, Trump also announced that starting August 1, the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on imported copper.

He said, after a national security assessment, copper is an essential material for semiconductors, aircraft, ships, ammunition, data centers, lithium batteries, radar systems, missile defense systems, and hypersonic weapons—all essential goods that the U.S. will build in large quantities. For the Department of Defense, copper is the second most-used raw material.

He pointed out that the 50% tariff will reverse what he called the Biden administration’s reckless and foolish actions, stating the U.S. will once again dominate the copper industry.