Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he will match any tariffs imposed on his country’s imports by the U.S.
In a lengthy and fiery X post, Mr. da Silva responded to President Trump’s letter announcing 50% levies on all Brazilian imports, effective Aug. 1. The Brazilian leader said “any unilateral tariff increases” would be met with reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods.
He stressed that Brazil is “a sovereign country with independent institutions and will not accept any tutelage.”
The U.S. is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner after China, so the tariff hike from a rate 10% to a whopping 50% if it can’t reach a trade deal could jar the South American nation’s economy.
Mr. Trump on Wednesday sent a letter to Mr. da Silva spelling out the new tariff, which is a massive hike from the 10% announced in April, saying the new rate is a response to the “very unfair trade relationship between the two countries.”
The U.S. president also said the tariff was partly in retaliation for the prosecution of the country’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro.
Addressing Mr. Trump’s assertion, Mr. da Silva said that matter was the “sole responsibility” of the Brazilian judiciary and shouldn’t be subject to outside interference that “undermines the independence of national institutions.” He added that he “will not accept being lectured by anyone.”
The American president has long decried Brazil’s treatment of Mr. Bolsonaro, a vocal ally of Mr. Trump standing trial over his role in an alleged coup to overturn his 2022 reelection loss. Mr. Trump has described the criminal case against Mr. Bolsonaro as “an international disgrace” and slammed the trial as a “witch hunt,” echoing the language he used to describe the multiple criminal investigations he faced before winning the 2024 election.
The letter to Mr. da Silva followed more than two dozen others Mr. Trump sent this week to other world leaders, dictating steep tariff rates on goods they sell to the U.S.
In his letter to Brazil, Mr. Trump wrote that the country’s trade policies have caused “unstable trade deficits against the United States,” threatening its economy and national security.
Yet the U.S. had a trade surplus with Brazil of $7.4 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
In his response, Mr. da Silva called the allegation of a trade deficit false, citing the U.S. government’s own statistics.
