respect Brazil or face retaliatory tariffs : NPR

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Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg through Getty Photos RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva says the U.S. should respect his nation — and he is able to impose retaliatory tariffs if President Donald Trump goes forward with a risk to slap a 50% tax on Brazilian imports beginning in Aug. 1.

Trump posted the warning in a letter on social media, citing what he referred to as a "witch hunt" in opposition to Brazil's former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who's presently on trial for making an attempt to overturn the 2022 election. Trump demanded the case be dropped, calling Bolsonaro "a Extremely Revered Chief all through the World."

Lula mentioned in an interview posted to his offical media account that at the beginning he thought the letter from Trump was a pretend.

"The Brazilian individuals have to be revered. Brazilian justice have to be revered." Lula mentioned, "We're a fantastic, sovereign nation with a historic custom of diplomacy with all nations. Brazil will undertake the mandatory measures to guard its individuals and its firms."

The U.S. presently runs a commerce surplus with Brazil — not like most of the greater than 20 nations that additionally acquired tariff warning letters this week. Final yr alone, the U.S. exported extra to Brazil than it imported. That is why Lula referred to as Trump's declare that the commerce relationship was "removed from reciprocal" merely inaccurate.

Whereas Trump has issued comparable tariff threats to different nations, consultants say this case is totally different. Georgetown commerce coverage professor Marc Busch says utilizing tariffs as political strain over one other nation's inner judicial proceedings is very provocative.

"Brazil taking this significantly might escalate in a dramatic and qualitatively totally different means than Trump has seen with different commerce companions," Busch mentioned.

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Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg through Getty Photos Lula says his authorities is exploring retaliation, although Brazil's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has tried to dial again tensions. In an interview, he mentioned any dispute "can and have to be overcome by way of diplomacy."

The previous couple of days has seen an escalation in rhetoric between the 2 leaders. Earlier within the week Brazil hosted a summit of the BRICS nations of rising economies — bringing collectively founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, together with newcomers like Egypt and Indonesia. There, in a pointed response to Trump's tariff threats in opposition to BRICS nations, Lula pushed again. "We do not need an emperor — we're sovereign nations," he mentioned.

The tariff threats have rattled Brazil's exporters. Gláucio de Castro, a espresso farmer and head of a significant growers federation in Minas Gerais, mentioned that whereas he helps Trump's politics, this transfer would harm Brazil's economic system.

"I agree with Trump's pondering," he mentioned. "But it surely's not proper to harm our nation commercially — it is actually dangerous to us. Brazil is the world's largest exporter of espresso, and a steep tariff might spike costs for U.S. shoppers. The nation additionally exports plane, metal, and oil to the U.S., which means the fallout might stretch throughout a number of industries.