Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called Donald Trump's threat to impose high tariffs 'unacceptable blackmail.'

Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on Brazil to drop criminal charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro, saying he would be “watching closely” for a response just a week after threatening to impose punishing tariffs on the South American nation.

If implemented, the sanctions against supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes would dramatically escalate a widening feud between the United States and Brazil.