President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pushed again in opposition to US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a sweeping 50% tariff on Brazilian imports, vowing an acceptable “reply” to defend the pursuits of the Brazilian folks.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Lula mentioned he was stunned each by the content material and the way of Trump’s risk, which was delivered through a letter posted on Reality Social final week. In it, Trump introduced a blanket 50% tariff on all Brazilian items beginning August 1 and demanded an finish to what he known as a “witch hunt” in opposition to the “extremely revered” former president Jair Bolsonaro, who stands accused of making an attempt to orchestrate a coup following his 2022 election defeat.
“Once I learn the letter, I believed it was faux information,” Lula mentioned, describing the transfer as “breaking away from any protocol, any liturgy, that ought to exist between the relations between two heads of state.”
“We can’t have President Trump forgetting that he was elected to control the US – he was not elected to be the emperor of the world,” Lula said. “Brazil won’t settle for something imposed on it. We settle for negotiation, not imposition.”
Whereas expressing openness to dialogue, Lula mentioned Brazil is “additionally making ready ourselves to provide a solution” – regardless of Trump’s warning that any retaliation might result in even steeper tariffs.
“If President Trump is prepared to take critically the negotiations underway between Brazil and the US, then I’ll be open-minded to barter no matter could also be obligatory,” Lula added.
Lula beforehand rejected Trump’s declare that Brazil is liable for commerce imbalances, pointing to US authorities information exhibiting a $410 billion US surplus in items and companies commerce with Brazil over the previous 15 years. Earlier this week, the US launched an official investigation to find out what was so “unfair” about Brazil’s commerce practices.
Trump has previoulsy threatened an extra 10% tariff on all BRICS nations, accusing the bloc of attempting to “destroy the greenback as the worldwide customary.” He additional warned that Russia’s buying and selling companions might face a secondary 100% tariff except the conflict in Ukraine is resolved inside 50 days. Even at 50%, Brazil would face the best US import tariff introduced to this point.
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