Lula warned that Brazil will impose reciprocal tariffs if Trump follows through, adding, “Brazil will not accept anything imposed on it.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has fired back at U.S. President Donald Trump over his threat to impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods, saying Trump was elected to lead the U.S., “not to be the emperor of the world.”
Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, Lula rejected the link Trump made between trade penalties and the trial of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally accused of plotting a coup after his 2022 defeat. “He is being judged by the acts he tried to organize a coup d’etat,” Lula said.
Lula warned that Brazil will impose reciprocal tariffs if Trump follows through, adding, “Brazil will not accept anything imposed on it.”
Still, Lula expressed willingness to negotiate: “The best thing in the world is for us to sit around a table and talk.”
The U.S. has since opened an investigation into Brazil’s trade practices, intensifying tensions with Latin America’s largest economy. Lula said, “I thought it was fake news.”