President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sanctions on Brazil in defense of the country's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has marked a low point in U.S.

The US also imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil after Trump accused it of "attacks" on US companies and of conducting a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro.

Trump announced the tariffs, some of the steepest levied on any economy in the U.S. trade war, as his administration also unveiled sanctions on the Brazilian supreme court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial on charges of plotting a coup.