Brazil vows to match US tariffs after Trump threatens 50% levy

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has stated he is able to match any tariffs imposed on Brazil by the USA. Lula was responding to Wednesday’s menace by his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to impose a 50% import tax on Brazilian items from 1 August. In a letter, Trump cited Brazil’s remedy of former President Jair Bolsonaro as a set off for tariff-hike.Bolsonaro is at the moment on trial for allegedly trying to stage a coup towards Lula after being defeated by him within the 2022 election. Trump referred to Bolsonaro as “a extremely revered chief all through the world”. “This Trial shouldn’t be going down,” he wrote, calling on Brazil to instantly finish the “witch hunt” towards the previous president.Trump’s help for Bolsonaro doesn’t come as a shock as the 2 males have lengthy been thought of allies. The US president had already slammed Brazil for its remedy of Bolsonaro on Monday, evaluating it to the authorized circumstances he himself had confronted in US courts.The 50% tariff menace was met with a strong and prolonged response by President Lula. In a put up on X, he harassed that Brazil was “a sovereign nation with unbiased establishments and won’t settle for any tutelage”.The Brazilian chief additionally introduced that “any unilateral tariff will increase” could be met with reciprocal tariffs imposed on US items.The US is Brazil’s second-largest commerce accomplice after China, so the hike from a tariff charge of 10% to an eye-watering 50% – if it comes into drive – would hit the South American nation onerous.However Lula additionally made some extent of difficult Trump’s assertion that the US had a commerce deficit with Brazil, calling it “inaccurate”.Lula’s rebuttal is backed up by US authorities knowledge, which suggests the US had a items commerce surplus with Brazil of $7.4bn (£5.4bn) in 2024.Brazil is the US’s fifteenth largest buying and selling accomplice and amongst its major imports from the US are mineral fuels, plane and equipment.For its half, the US imports gasoline and petroleum, iron, and low from Brazil.Brazil was not the one nation Trump threatened with greater tariffs on Wednesday. Japan, South Korea and Sri Lanka have been amongst 22 nations which acquired letters warning of upper levies. However the letter Trump despatched to his Brazilian counterpart was the one one focussing issues past alleged commerce deficits.In addition to denouncing the remedy of ex-President Bolsonaro, Trump slammed what he stated have been “secret and illegal censorship orders to US social media platforms” which he stated Brazil had imposed.Trump Media, which operates the US president’s Fact Social platform and is majority-owned by him, is among the many US tech firms preventing Brazilian court docket rulings over orders suspending social media accounts.Lula fought again on that entrance too, justifying the rulings by arguing that “Brazilian society rejects hateful content material, racism, little one pornography, scams, fraud, and speeches towards human rights and democratic freedom”.Rafael Cortez, a political scientist with Brazilian consulting agency Tendências Consultoria, advised BBC Information Brasil that fairly than damage him, the overly political tone of Trump’s letter may find yourself benefitting Lula. “These confronting Trump win at dwelling when Trump and different conservative leaders communicate out on points pertaining to their international locations. That occurred, to a sure diploma, in Mexico, and the elections in Canada and Australia,” Mr Cortez says of different leaders who’ve challenged Trump and reaped the rewards within the type of rising reputation ranges. Creomar de Souza of the political threat consultancy Dharma Politics advised BBC Information Mundo’s Mariana Schreiber that it might rely on the Lula authorities arising with organised and united response whether it is to “rating a objective” towards Trump.