Trump spoke on Friday to journalists in Washington about possible conversation with Lula
United States President Donald Trump signaled on Friday (11/7) that he is willing to talk in the future with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) about 50% tariffs imposed on Brazilian products.
In conversation with journalists in Washington, the US president said this should happen “at some point, not now.”
Trump also praised former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and said he considers the treatment given to him unfair.
In the statement, Trump said Bolsonaro is a “good man” and “honest”, as well as highlighting his firm posture in bilateral negotiations.
“I know him well, I negotiated with him. He was a very hard negotiator. I can tell you that. He was a very honest man and loved the people of Brazil,” Trump first said to embark on Texas, where floods left 120 dead.
Trump’s message happens two days after he sends a letter to Lula announcing that Brazilian exports will suffer an additional 50% tax from August 1st.
Among the justifications for the measure, the US President mentioned the lawsuit investigating former President Bolsonaro for attempted coup d’état after the 2022 elections.
In a letter addressed to Lula shared on social networks, Trump wrote in Bottles that the trial against his political ally should be interrupted immediately.
In an interview with Jornal Nacional on Thursday, Lula said it is “serious” the “intrusion of a president of a country in the judiciary of my country”.
“It is unacceptable that President Trump send a letter through his website and start saying that it is necessary to end Halloween. This is inadmissible,” said Lula.
Asked how he intends to answer the rates announced by Trump, Lula preached calm.
“I do not make a decision with 39 ° C of fever. Brazil will use the reciprocity law when necessary and Brazil will try, along with the WTO [Organização Mundial do Comércio] And other countries, making the WTO take a position to know who is right or wrong, ”he said.
Sanctioned by the Brazilian President in April, the Brazilian Economic Reciprocity Law authorizes the government to retaliate countries or blocks that impose commercial barriers to Brazilian products.
This Friday, Lula again liable Bolsonaro for the tariffs imposed by the US, in an event in the interior of Espírito Santo.
Lula wore a blue cap with the phrase “Brazil is from Brazilians”, in contrast to Trump’s Red Make America Great Again (Make America again), and blamed the former president and his son Eduardo Bolsonaro for the tariff.
“That coward thing, which prepared a blow in this country, did not have the courage to do, is being prosecuted, will be tried… and he sent his son to the United States to ask Trump to make a threat: ‘Oh, if they don’t release Bolsonaro I’ll tax you,” Lula said.
Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) has graduated from office and moved to the US in March saying that he would be dedicated to convincing the Trump government to act by amnesty to those involved in January 8 attacks in Brazil and to obtain sanctions for STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes.
In a note signed along with journalist Paulo Figueiredo, Bolsonaro’s son said that “in recent months, we have kept intense dialogue with authorities of President Trump’s government – always with the aim of accurately presenting the reality that Brazil lives today.”
According to Eduardo, Trump’s letter “confirms the success in the transmission of what we have been presenting with seriousness and responsibility”.
Lula appeared this Friday with a cap saying “Brazil is from Brazilians” | Ricardo Stuckert/PR
Reaction to ‘tariff’
In the letter, Trump also threatens to further raise the tariff on Brazilian products, if the country responds as a higher tax on US imports.
“If for any reason you decide to increase your rates, then whatever the number you choose to increase, it will be added to the 50% we charge,” the letter tells Lula.
After a first 10% rate was adopted against Brazil in April, when the STF’s performance was not cited as a justification, the Lula government said it would try to negotiate the reversal of the measure without discarding retaliation in the future.
The first rate was considered positive for the country, since among the extra rates applied, this was the lowest level. Still, the Brazilian government hope to reverse this increase through negotiations.
However, in the second round of the tariff, Brazil appears so far with the highest rate among all countries. Among those already notified are Japan and South Korea, threatened with an extra 25% tariff
Trump’s decision was received with surprise in Brazil and the US. American economist Paul Krugman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008, said the letter “marks a new direction” of tariff policies described by him as “megalomaniacs.”
The main vehicles of the American press also reverberated the letter. The Washington Post has stated that the announcement shows how personal, not simply economical issues, guide the use of Trump’s commercial tariffs.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs twice convened the US embassy business in charge, Gabriel Escobar, to provide clarification.
The call is a serious measure in international relations and a demonstration of displeasure with the other nation.
Ambassador Maria Luisa Escorel, Secretary of North America and Europe of Itamaraty, reported that Brazil would return the letter, considered by her as offensive and containing untrue statements and factual errors.
Among the possible measures studied by the Brazilian government to react to the new rate, they are diversifying business partnerships, betting on the wear and tear of the opposition and, if all fails, retaliated, told the executive sources to BBC News Brazil.
Trade balance
The US is the second main destination of Brazilian total exports, behind China, and the main destination for Brazilian exports of manufactured products.
The new rate represents a significant increase over the 10% announced by the US on April 2.
Products such as steel, oil, aircraft, pulp, coffee, meat and orange juice are among the main Brazilian exports to the US, according to government data, and these sectors could be the most affected.
The American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil (AMCHAM Brazil) – an entity based in Brazil that brings together Brazilian and American companies operating in both countries – announced last month that Brazilian exports to the US reached US $ 16.7 billion in the first five months of this year.
Issa represents a 5% increase over the same period of 2024 and sets a record for the period.
Already among the most imported products in Brazil in the USA are non -electrical engines and machines, fuel oils and gross oil, aircraft and natural gas.
In addition to defending Bolsonaro, Trump pointed out among his justifications for new tariffs a supposed US commercial deficit with Brazil. However, official data from the Brazilian government show surplus for the US.
Last year, the balance balance between Brazil and the USA was positive for Americans by about US $ 300 million, with Trump’s country buying US $ 40.4 billion in products in Brazil (12% of Brazilian exports) and selling US $ 40.7 billion here (15.5% of imports in Brazil).
“The statistics of the United States Government itself prove a surplus of this country in the trade of goods and services with Brazil of around US $ 410 billion over the last 15 years,” Lula said in a statement shortly after Trump’s announcement.
Originally published by BBC News on 07/11/2025
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2025/07/11/trump-diz-que-pode-negociar-tarifa-de-50-com-lula-mas-nao-agora-e-volta-a-elogiar-bolsonaro/
