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Investing.com-- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday decried U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of 50% tariffs against the South American country, and warned that the country will retaliate.
Lula said that Brazil will respond with the Law of Economic Reciprocity– a legal framework enacted in 2025 that allows the country to respond proportionately to unilateral trade, investment, or intellectual property restrictions imposed by foreign states.
This could see Brazil slap a 50% tariff on U.S. goods, sparking a trade war between the Americas’ biggest economies.
Lula said Trump was attempting to interfere with the country’s judicial process, and that Brazil will “not accept being tutored by anyone,” a translation of his X post showed.
He reaffirmed the country’s digital censorship laws, and said that companies operating in Brazil were subject to local legislation.
On the trade front, Lula rejected Trump’s justification for the tariffs—namely, a claimed U.S. trade deficit with Brazil. Citing U.S. government data, Lula said the U.S. actually enjoyed a $410 billion trade surplus with Brazil over the past 15 years- a figure that Investing.com was unable to immediately verify.
U.S. government data showed that Washington had a $6.79 billion trade surplus with Brasilia in 2024, and had annual trade surpluses ranging from $4 billion to $20 billion since at least 2009.
Trump on Wednesday released a letter outlining 50% tariffs against Brazil, effective August 1. The announcement comes shortly after a public spat with Lula, who had called Trump an “unwanted emperor” during a BRICS summit.
Trump in part attributed the tariffs to the ongoing trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro over allegedly attempting a coup in 2023. Trump has repeatedly asserted that the trial is a “witch hunt” and is politically motivated.
The U.S. president cited Brazil’s alleged censorship of U.S. social media platforms, and claimed that Washington held an unfair trading relationship with Brazil with “unsustainable trade deficits.”
Trump also opened a Section 301 investigation of Brazil, which focuses on unfair foreign trade practices that restrict U.S. companies. The investigation usually heralds the imposition of more trade tariffs.
Trump began sending out letters outlining trade tariffs against a slew of major global economies this week. Brazil was among the worst hit, with tariffs against other countries mostly ranging from 20% to 40%.