Trump’s Brazil Tariffs Risk Upending Trade From Coffee to Beef

President Donald Trump’s unexpected move to threaten a 50% tariff on Brazil risks roiling global commodity markets, disrupting trade on everything from beef to coffee.

The US is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner, trailing only China. But while the two nations compete directly in some markets like corn and cotton, Brazil — an agricultural powerhouse — also produces tropical goods like coffee that can’t be grown in the continental US.

Brazil has been ramping up beef shipments to meet growing US demand, and is a key supplier of wood pulp used in everything from books to toilet paper. That’s spurring hopes ...