Economists have been expressing alarm over U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on Aug. 1 — the largest country-specific levy out of the 22 that Trump has rolled out this week.

The president signaled he would seek to use the threat of steep levies to reorient trade and protect his political allies.

In geopolitics, fortune favors the patient opportunist. Tariffs designed to isolate one partner often bind that partner more tightly to another.

One of the highest tariffs threatened by President Trump so far is against Brazil, with the president citing a criminal prosecution against Jair Bolsonaro.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to impose 50% tariffs on all products from Brazil starting August 1, which could have a sharp impact on South America's agricultural powerhouse.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday levied a 50% tariff against Brazil, which produces more than a third of the world's coffee, citing, in part, the country's treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro,