"Not Going To Humiliate Myself": Brazil's Lula Rejects Talks With Trump
As U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods jumped to 50% on Wednesday, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told Reuters in an interview that he saw no room for direct talks with U.S. President Donald Trump which he believes would turn into a "humiliation" for him.
Brazil is not about to announce reciprocal tariffs, he said. Nor will his government give up on cabinet-level talks. But Lula himself is in no rush to ring the White House.
"The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won't hesitate to call him," Lula said in an interview from his presidential residence in Brasilia. "But today my intuition says he doesn't want to talk. And I'm not going to humiliate myself."
Despite Brazil's exports facing one of the highest tariffs imposed by Trump, the new U.S. trade barriers look unlikely to derail Latin America's largest economy, giving Lula more room to stand his ground against Trump than most Western leaders.
Lula described U.S.-Brazil relations at a 200-year nadir after Trump tied the new tariff to his demand for an end to the prosecution of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is standing trial for plotting to overturn the 2022 election.
The president said Brazil's Supreme Court, which is hearing the case against Bolsonaro, "does not care what Trump says and it should not," adding that Bolsonaro should face another trial for provoking Trump's intervention, calling the right-wing former president a "traitor to the homeland."
"We had already pardoned the U.S. intervention in the 1964 coup," said Lula, who got his political start as a union leader protesting against the military government that followed. "But this now is not a small intervention. It's the president of the United States thinking he can dictate rules for a sovereign country like Brazil. It's unacceptable."
Lula said his ministers were struggling to open talks with U.S. peers, so his government was focused on domestic measures to cushion the economic blow of U.S. tariffs, while maintaining "fiscal responsibility."
He also said he was planning to call leaders from the BRICS group of developing nations, starting with India and China, to discuss the possibility of a joint response to U.S. tariffs.
Lula also described plans to create a new national policy for Brazil's strategic mineral resources, treating them as a matter of "national sovereignty" to break with a history of mining exports that added little value in Brazil.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
24 minutes ago
- Hans India
Govt directs depts to appoint nodal officers to enforce Sexual Harassment Act
Bengaluru: In a significant move aimed at protecting women in the workplace, the Government of Karnataka has directed all departments and offices—both public and private—to strictly enforce the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The directive also includes compliance with the Supreme Court's guidelines on workplace safety for women. In a circular issued by Dr. Shamla Iqbal, Secretary of the Department of Women and Child Development, the government has ordered that every department and office appoint a nodal officer to oversee the implementation of the Act. These officers will be responsible for uploading all relevant information—including details of subordinate offices and Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs)—to the central She-Box portal, a digital grievance redressal platform for workplace harassment. The directive emphasizes that all complaints received through the portal or directly must be addressed swiftly and with quality oversight. Departments have also been instructed to conduct regular review meetings to assess the status and effectiveness of the Act's implementation across all subordinate offices and institutions. The circular further mandates that offices which have not yet established Internal Complaints Committees must constitute them immediately. Nodal officers are also required to frequently update compliance progress on the She-Box portal, ensuring transparency and accountability. This initiative is seen as a strong step toward ensuring safe and inclusive working environments for women across Karnataka, reinforcing the state's commitment to gender equality and workplace justice.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
24 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Trump's tariff hike could shave 0.3 pp off India's GDP: Goldman Sachs
India condemns new 25% duty on exports; total levy now at 50%; analysts expect talks before August 27 deadline New Delhi India's economy could take an additional 0.3 percentage point (pp) annualised hit to real gross domestic product (GDP) growth following US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a fresh 25 per cent duty on Indian imports, Goldman Sachs said. This is over and above the 0.3 pp impact previously estimated from the April 2025 tariff round. According to Goldman Sachs, once exclusions, such as those under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act, 1962, are applied, the effective average tariff rate on Indian exports to the US will settle at around 32 per cent. US doubles tariff on Indian goods On Wednesday evening, Trump issued an executive order imposing an additional 25 per cent duty on Indian imports. This brings the total levy to 50 per cent, effective August 27. India's US exposure significant India's exposure to the US market is substantial. Around 4 per cent of India's GDP is linked to final demand from the United States, Goldman Sachs analysts noted. In FY25, India exported goods worth $86.5 billion to the US, while imports stood at $45.7 billion. Key exports include electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and textiles, while major imports are crude oil, gems and jewellery, and machinery. Russian crude oil: A flashpoint in India-US trade relations One major point of tension is oil. While Russia provided about one-third of India's crude oil in FY25, the US share was just 4 per cent. That share did rise to 8 per cent in April and May 2025, but the US remains a minor supplier overall. MEA terms move 'unfair' India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) called the US action ' unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.' It said India's energy sourcing was guided by market pricing and supply security. 'It is extremely unfortunate that the US has chosen to penalise India for decisions being made by several other countries in their own national interest,' the MEA said in a strongly worded statement. PM Modi: Farmers, fishers, dairy will not be sacrificed Addressing the MS Swaminathan Centenary International Conference on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that India would not compromise on the interests of its farmers, fishers, or dairy industry. ' The interest of our farmers is our top priority … I know that I will have to pay a heavy personal price for this. But I am ready for it,' the Prime Minister said. Room for negotiations remains Goldman Sachs has not revised its India GDP forecast yet, but flagged the possibility of further impact if retaliatory actions or broader trade restrictions follow. 'There is a window for negotiation,' the report said, pointing to the three-week gap before the new tariffs come into effect. A day earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) held its FY26 GDP growth projection steady at 6.5 per cent, citing a lack of sufficient data to warrant revisions. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, speaking after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, said, ' We do not have sufficient data to revise our GDP forecast,' adding that global uncertainties had already been factored into earlier projections.
Mint
24 minutes ago
- Mint
Renol Polychem IPO listing: Renol Polychem share price makes flat debut on NSE SME, tanks 5% to hit lower circuit
Renol Polychem IPO listing: Renol Polychem share price debuted flat on the NSE SME on Thursday, August 7, amid weak market sentiment on worries over Trump tariffs. Renol Polychem stock opened at par its issue price of ₹ 105. After a flat opening, the stock saw a sharp selloff which dragged it its 5 per cent lower circuit of ₹ 99.75. Around 11:10 AM, the stock was locked in its 5 per cent lower circuit. The stock's listing was below what the grey market was expecting. As per grey market sources, the stock was expected to list at ₹ 108. Renol Polychem supplies a diverse range of raw materials, including colour masterbatches, pigments, filler granules, anti-moisture powders, carbon noodles, superpack and onepack solutions, impact modifiers, processing aids, and titanium dioxide. Operating on a B2B model, the company serves industrial and commercial clients exclusively, providing essential inputs for the manufacturing of plastic products. The company specialises in manufacturing tailor-made masterbatches and pigment solutions designed to meet specific performance, colour, and application requirements of customers. Renol Polychem IPO opened for subscription on Thursday, July 31 and closed on Monday, August 4. The ₹ 25.77 crore SME IPO, which was a fresh issue of 24.54 lakh shares, was priced at ₹ 100-105 per share. Renol Polychem IPO was subscribed 6.83 times. The retail category was booked 6.51 times, while the non-institutional investor (NII) quota was subscribed 6.89 times. The qualified institutional buyer (QIB) segment was booked 8.41 times. The company intends to use the net proceeds from the IPO to fund capital expenditure for machinery purchases, meet working capital requirements, repay some borrowings, and for general corporate purposes. Read all IPO-related news here Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations expressed are those of individual analysts or broking firms, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.
