A container ship docked on the Port of Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday, July 10, 2025.
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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says the U.S. should respect his nation — and he is able to impose retaliatory tariffs if President Donald Trump goes forward with a menace to slap a 50% tax on Brazilian imports beginning in Aug. 1.
Trump posted the warning in a letter on social media, citing what he known as a “witch hunt” towards Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who’s presently on trial for attempting to overturn the 2022 election. Trump demanded the case be dropped, calling Bolsonaro “a Extremely Revered Chief all through the World.”
Lula stated in an interview posted to his offical media account that in the first place he thought the letter from Trump was a pretend.
“The Brazilian individuals have to be revered. Brazilian justice have to be revered.” Lula stated, “We’re a terrific, sovereign nation with a historic custom of diplomacy with all nations. Brazil will undertake the required measures to guard its individuals and its corporations.”
The U.S. presently runs a commerce surplus with Brazil — not like lots of the greater than 20 international locations that additionally acquired tariff warning letters this week. Final 12 months alone, the U.S. exported extra to Brazil than it imported. That is why Lula known as Trump’s declare that the commerce relationship was “removed from reciprocal” merely inaccurate.
Whereas Trump has issued related tariff threats to different international locations, consultants say this case is completely different. Georgetown commerce coverage professor Marc Busch says utilizing tariffs as political strain over one other nation’s inside judicial proceedings is extremely provocative.
“Brazil taking this significantly might escalate in a dramatic and qualitatively completely different method than Trump has seen with different commerce companions,” Busch stated.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, throughout a information convention on the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday, July 7, 2025.
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Lula says his authorities is exploring retaliation, although Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has tried to dial again tensions. In an interview, he stated any dispute “can and have to be overcome by means of diplomacy.”
The previous few days has seen an escalation in rhetoric between the 2 leaders. Earlier within the week Brazil hosted a summit of the BRICS nations of rising economies — bringing collectively founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, together with newcomers like Egypt and Indonesia. There, in a pointed response to Trump’s tariff threats towards BRICS international locations, Lula pushed again. “We do not need an emperor — we’re sovereign nations,” he stated.
The tariff threats have rattled Brazil’s exporters. Gláucio de Castro, a espresso farmer and head of a significant growers federation in Minas Gerais, stated that whereas he helps Trump’s politics, this transfer would damage Brazil’s financial system.
“I agree with Trump’s considering,” he stated. “But it surely’s not proper to harm our nation commercially — it is actually dangerous to us. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of espresso, and a steep tariff may spike costs for U.S. shoppers. The nation additionally exports plane, metal, and oil to the U.S., which means the fallout may stretch throughout a number of industries.
