&w=3840&q=100)
Brazil can survive without US trade, says Lula amid Trump tariff threat
Bloomberg
By Simone Iglesias and Daniel Carvalho
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insisted Brazil can survive without trade with the US and will look to other partners to replace it, a sharp response to Donald Trump after the American leader threatened 50 per cent tariffs against the nation.
'We're going to have to look for other partners to buy our products. Brazil's trade with the US represents 1.7 per cent of its GDP,' Lula said in a broadcast interview with Record TV on Thursday evening. 'It's not like we can't survive without the US.'
He made clear that he had no intentions of standing down, saying during an interview on Globo TV that the tariff fight could be 'endless.'
The Brazilian also said countries like his are not obliged to continue using the dollar to trade, reiterating remarks he made at last weekend's Brics summit in Rio de Janeiro that he acknowledged 'likely worried Trump.'
'We are interested in creating a trade currency among other countries,' Lula said in the Record interview. 'I'm not obligated to buy dollars to conduct trade with Venezuela, Bolivia, Chile, Sweden, the European Union, or China. We can trade in our own currencies.'
Trump on Wednesday said he would impose the tariffs on Brazilian goods in a letter that cited the legal woes of Jair Bolsonaro, the right-wing former president and Lula rival who is facing trial on charges that he attempted a coup following his 2022 election defeat.
The US is Brazil's second-largest trading partner, following only China. Bloomberg Economics estimates that a 50 per cent tariff would risk a 1 per cent hit to Brazil's economy. The levies could cause a 60 per cent reduction in total US imports of goods from Brazil, although the South American nation could divert some exports to other markets, the report said.
The levies from the US — far higher than the 10 per cent initially announced in April — also followed the meeting of the Brics emerging market nations, where Lula and other leaders criticized tariffs and military strikes on Iran even as they avoided mention of Trump.
Despite Lula's remarks on the dollar, the Brics nations again made no significant progress toward a cross-border payments system for trade and investment they've been discussing for a decade. And Lula said Trump had no need to have concerns about the bloc of countries.
Trump's citation of the case involving Bolsonaro — he called it a 'Witch Hunt' and demanded its dismissal — angered Lula, who on Wednesday pledged to retaliate and accused the US of attempting to interfere in Brazil's justice system and internal affairs.
'No Reason to Talk'
Government ministers argued in public remarks throughout Thursday that there was no economic rationale behind the tariffs, only political motivations that left little room to negotiate given that Lula doesn't have the power to intervene in Bolsonaro's case with the Supreme Court.
Lula said Thursday that he would 'have no problem calling Trump,' but that he 'has to have a reason to call' first.
'He could have called Brazil to talk about the measures he's going to take,' he said in the Globo interview. 'It was a total lack of respect, and I don't have to accept that lack of respect. I have nothing to talk about with Trump, he gives no reason to talk.'
Instead, Lula said he would seek to talk with business leaders from companies and sectors that would be affected by the tariffs, specifically citing Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA, orange juice producers and steelmakers.
Brazil, he said, would attempt to exhaust negotiations ahead of Aug. 1, when the tariffs are set to take effect. But his government won't shy away from retaliating under a new trade reciprocity law approved by Congress this year if talks make no progress.
'We'll try to carry out every possible negotiation process,' Lula said in the Globo interview. 'Brazil prefers to negotiate, prefers dialogue. But once negotiations are exhausted, Brazil will enforce the Reciprocity Law.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
17 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Kremlin plays down Putin-Zelenskyy talks, Trump warns Russia may ‘not want to make a deal'
The highly anticipated meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to pause the hostilities between the two countries could have dark clouds hovering over it as the Kremlin has played down the summit, while the US President Donald Trump renewed his call for the two leaders to meet and end the Ukraine war. The renewed calls for a bilateral summit comes after Trump met Putin in Alaska last week and the US president welcomed seven European leaders and Zelenskyy to the White House on Monday, with the sole objective of a possible ceasefire or a quick peace deal to stop the hostilities that began in February 2022. 🇷🇺🇺🇸 Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President @realDonaldTrump following talks in #Anchorage, Alaska: 💬 President #Putin: Next time in Moscow 💬 @POTUS: I could see it possibly happening#RussiaUSA — MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) August 16, 2025 Trump acknowledged the complexities in the conflict and said it was a 'tough one' to resolve, while adding that it was possible the Russian president might not be interested in ending the hostilities. 'We're going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks. It's possible that he doesn't want to make a deal,' Trump said on Tuesday, reported BBC. Without providing any further detail, Trump added that Putin faced a 'rough' situation if that were the case. The Russian president, over a phone call which was dialed by Trump, reportedly said he was 'open' to the idea of a bilateral meeting with Ukraine's president, however, on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov played down the vague commitment offered by the Kremlin chief. 'Any meeting would have to be prepared gradually…starting with the expert level and thereafter going through all the required steps,' Lavrov said on Tuesday. However, Dmitry Polyanskiy, a Russian deputy representative to the UN, in a different tone told BBC that 'nobody [had] rejected' the opportunity for direct talks, 'but it shouldn't be a meeting for the sake of a meeting'. Few reports on Tuesday stated that Putin suggested to Trump that a meeting with Zelenskyy in Moscow was possible. It could have been the Kremlin's way of putting a far fetched idea so that Kyiv doesn't agree to a bilateral meeting with Putin. (with inputs from BBC)
Mint
17 minutes ago
- Mint
Trump slapped India with 50% tariff to put ‘secondary pressure' on Russia: White House
President Donald Trump's decision to raise tariffs on India was aimed at discouraging Russia from continuing its war in Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday. The move was designed to put secondary pressure on Moscow, she explained during a press briefing Trump has effectively doubled India's tariff burden to 50 percent by adding an extra 25 percent on top of the earlier 25 percent levy. "Look, the president has put tremendous public pressure to bring this war to a close. He's taken actions, as you've seen, sanctions on India and other actions as well. He's made himself very clear that he wants to see this war end, and he has scoffed at the ideas of others that have been raised that we should wait another month before any meeting takes place," she said. Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Monday and last week he had also met with President Putin. Both have signalled that they are open to start direct talks. Leavitt further said that Trump wishes to bring peace as soon as possible. "The president wants to move and he wants to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible... With all of those European leaders leaving the White House, including the NATO Secretary General, they all agree that this is a great first step. And it's a good thing that these two leaders are going to be sitting down together, and the president expects that to happen," she said. Leavitt further said, "I can assure you that the United States government and the Trump administration are working with both Russia and Ukraine to make that bilateral happen as we speak." Leavitt said that Trump's relentless efforts at brokering peace led to the European leaders being present at the White House within 48 hours of his meeting with Putin. "The President met with all of these European leaders at the White House 48 hours after sitting down with President Putin on American soil. In fact, there was so much progress in the readout that was given to these European leaders immediately following his meeting with President Putin that every single one of them got on a plane 48 hours later and flew to the United States of America," she said. "So these leaders who this war is in their backyard are very grateful that the president took that call and that he was there to provide them with a readout of Russia's thinking on this, something that was not done by the previous administration at all," she added. In response to a reporter's question, Leavitt reiterated that the war would not have broken out had Trump been in office. "The president often says that this war would not have started if he were in office and and Putin confirmed that," the reporter asked. "True. Do you accept that as true? The European leaders do. Well, and President Putin himself said that, by the way," Leavitt said. Trump has repeatedly stated that the war wouldn't have started if he were in office, and surprisingly, Putin seems to agree. When asked about this, Leavitt confirmed that Putin did indeed say that.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
17 minutes ago
- First Post
Trump rules out deploying US troops in Ukraine under security guarantees
The US president, however, said that Washington is ready to provide air support to Kyiv in an attempt to play by the security guarantees deal. This would still be a major shift in his administration's policy on the conflict US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walk during a meeting, amid negotiations to end the Russian war in Ukraine, at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, on Monday. Reuters File US President Donald Trump has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees agreed upon in the White House, a move that was described as a significant breakthrough by European leaders. When asked during a phone interview with Fox News whether he could assure listeners, particularly his MAGA supporters who favour an isolationist, America-first foreign policy, that the US would not deploy troops to Ukraine, Trump responded: 'You have my assurance, and I'm president.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He, however, said that Washington is ready to provide air support to Kyiv in an attempt to play by the security guarantees deal. This would still be a major shift in his administration's policy on the conflict. Meanwhile, Russia has warned that the deployment of Nato troops to Ukraine would be a red line in any negotiations. However, on Tuesday, Trump brushed off those concerns and expressed continued optimism about the possibility of reaching a deal with Putin. What do the security agreements entail? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he discussed Ukraine's plans to purchase $90 billion in American weapons through European funding during his meeting with Trump and European leaders at the White House. According to a report by the Financial Times, the security guarantees include a $50bn deal to produce drones with Ukrainian companies. A document of the guarantees does not mention which weapons Kyiv intends to procure; however, Ukraine has been clear about its intentions to purchase at least 10 US-made Patriot air defence systems. The document of the security guarantees, as seen by FT, also highlights 'lasting peace shall be based not on concessions and free gifts to Putin, but on [a] strong security framework that will prevent future aggression'. It adds that recent footage aired by Russian media suggests the Kremlin is not serious about pursuing a peace deal and holds a dim view of Trump's leadership, pointing to disparaging remarks about the US president made by prominent television host Vladimir Solovyov. UK offers air support to Ukraine The head of the British armed forces is set to inform his US counterparts that the UK is willing to deploy troops to help defend Ukraine's airspace and maritime borders, but not to engage on the front lines against Russia, as planning intensifies for a post-war security arrangement. Tony Radakin, the Chief of the Defence Staff, will attend meetings at the Pentagon on Wednesday aimed at finalising what 30 nations are prepared to contribute to Ukraine's long-term security. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
