President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva states that the US must respect his country — and he is ready to impose retaliatory tariffs if President Donald Trump proceeds with the threat of applying a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports starting August 1st.
Trump published the alert in a letter on social media, citing what he called a “witch hunt” against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently on trial. Trump demanded that the case be dropped, calling Bolsonaro “a highly respected leader worldwide”.
Lula said in an interview published on his official social media account that he initially thought Trump’s letter was fake.
“The Brazilian people must be respected. Brazilian justice must be respected.” Lula said: “We are a great and sovereign country, with a historical tradition of diplomacy with all nations. Brazil will take the necessary measures to protect its people and its companies.”
The US currently has a trade surplus with Brazil — unlike many of the more than 20 countries that also received tariff warning letters this week. Just last year, the US exported more to Brazil than it imported. That’s why Lula described Trump’s claim that the trade relationship was “far from reciprocal” as simply inaccurate.
Although Trump has issued similar tariff threats to other countries, experts say this case is different. Georgetown trade policy professor Marc Busch says using tariffs as political pressure on another country’s internal judicial processes is highly provocative.
“If Brazil takes this seriously, it could escalate in a dramatic and qualitatively different way from what Trump has seen with other trading partners,” Busch said.
Lula says his government is exploring retaliations, although Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has tried to reduce tensions. In an interview, he stated that any dispute “can and should be overcome through diplomacy”.
The last few days have witnessed an escalation in rhetoric between the two leaders. Earlier this week, Brazil hosted a BRICS summit, a group of emerging economies — bringing together founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as newcomers like Egypt and Indonesia. There, in a forceful response to Trump’s tariff threats against BRICS countries, Lula reacted. “We don’t want an emperor — we are sovereign nations,” he said.
The tariff threats have shaken Brazilian exporters. Gláucio de Castro, coffee farmer and president of an important producers’ federation in Minas Gerais, said that although he supports Trump’s policies, this measure would harm the Brazilian economy.
“I agree with Trump’s thinking,” he said. But it’s not right to harm our country commercially — it’s really detrimental to us. Brazil is the world’s largest coffee exporter, and a high tariff could raise prices for American consumers. The country also exports aircraft, steel, and oil to the US, meaning the consequences could extend to various sectors.
Source: npr.org by Carrie Kahn