Brazilian president denounces US tariff hike as unjustified trade bullying

SAO PAULO: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a public speech on Friday that Brazil opposes tariff bullying and defends equal rules in international trade.

AI Brief

The US imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports like meat and coffee, citing a "reciprocal tariff" policy.
Lula condemned the move as baseless and accused the US of spreading falsehoods and practicing unfair trade.
Brazil will continue supporting multilateralism and a stable, open business environment for global cooperation.

Lula's statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 30 to implement an additional 40 percent tariff on Brazilian goods. This move escalates the tariff rates on most Brazilian exports to the United States to 50 percent, including meat, coffee and fruits, based on the so-called "reciprocal tariff" executive order issued by the United States in April.

In the speech, Lula said he believes that the reason given by the United States for imposing additional tariffs on Brazil is completely "groundless," and that the unreasonable accusations made by the United States against Brazil are driven by a unilateral hegemonic mentality.

"I cannot accept a president of a major country like the United States openly spreading so many falsehoods about Brazil. The United States has not incurred losses in its trade with Brazil. We do not want the fake 'multilateralism' where big countries bully small ones. That is not fair trade. Fair trade means equal rules for all countries," he said.

Lula affirmed that Brazil will steadfastly adhere to multilateralism, continuing to uphold a stable, open and predictable business environment to create more cooperation opportunities and development space for investors from around the world.