Brazil president Lula vows retaliation as Trump threatens 50% tariff on Brazilian goods

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that he is willing to meet any US tariffs imposed on Brazil. Lula was reacting to Wednesday's warning by his US counterpart Donald Trump to slap a 50% import duty on Brazilian imports from August 1. Trump, in a letter, used the reason of Brazil's handling of former President Jair Bolsonaro as a pretext for tariff-increase.

Bolsonaro stands on trial for purportedly trying to orchestrate a coup against Lula following his loss to the latter in the 2022 election. Trump termed Bolsonaro "a highly respected leader all over the globe". "This Trial should not be occurring," he said, urging Brazil to put an end to the "witch hunt" of the previous president immediately.

Trump's endorsement of Bolsonaro is not surprising since the two have been allies for a long time.

The US leader had already criticised Brazil for its handling of Bolsonaro on Monday (July 7), likening it to the lawsuits that he himself had been subjected to in US courts. The 50% tariff threat was countered by a strong and lengthy statement from president Lula.

On an X post, he emphasised that Brazil was "a sovereign nation with autonomous institutions and will not accept tutelage" of any sort. The Brazilian president also declared that "any unilateral tariffs increases" would have reciprocal tariffs imposed on American products.

The US is Brazil's second-biggest trade partner only after China, so the increase from a 10% tariff to an eye-watering 50% - if implemented - would severely impact the South American country. However, Lula also took pains to counter Trump's claim that the US suffered a trade deficit with Brazil and described it as "inaccurate".

Lula's response is supported by US government statistics, which indicate the US enjoyed a goods trade surplus with Brazil worth $7.4bn (£5.4bn) in 2024. Brazil ranks as the US's 15th biggest trading partner and one of its major US imports is mineral fuels, aircraft and machinery. In return, the US imports gas and petroleum, iron, and coffee from Brazil.

Brazil was not the sole nation targeted by Trump on Wednesday (July 9). Japan, South Korea and Sri Lanka were among 22 countries that were sent letters threatening higher tariffs. However, it was the only letter sent by Trump to his Brazilian counterpart which addressed issues other than reported trade deficits.

Besides condemning the way ex-president Bolsonaro was treated, Trump also criticised what he described as "secret and illegal censorship orders to US social media companies" which he claimed Brazil had levied. Trump Media, owner of US president Truth Social platform and majority-owned by Trump, is one of the US tech firms battling Brazilian court decisions regarding suspension order social media account suspensions.

Lula pushed back on that front as well, defending the judgments by claiming that "Brazilian society repudiates hateful speech, racism, child pornography, frauds, swindles, and speeches against human rights and democratic liberty".