Lula vs. Trump: “Brazil will not accept any tutelage” as the US levies 50% tariffs

US-Brazil Relations: Trump’s imposition of a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods in support of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly planning a coup to prevent Lula from taking government in 2023, caused diplomatic ties between the US and Brazil to reach an all-time low.

Brazil versus the US: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil retaliated against President Donald Trump of the United States for his decision to put a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods, claiming that the action was an insult to Brazilian sovereignty and judicial independence. After Trump claimed that the tariffs were a reprisal for the prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Lula responded harshly on social media, rejecting what he called outsider meddling in Brazil’s democratic processes.

It is crucial to emphasize the following in light of US President Donald Trump’s social media remarks on Wednesday afternoon, 9: Brazil is an independent country with its own institutions and will not accept any kind of tutelage. In a post on X, Lula stated that the legal actions taken against the individuals who orchestrated the coup d’etat are solely within the purview of Brazil’s judicial branch and are therefore immune from any meddling or threats that would jeopardize the autonomy of national institutions.

He also refuted Trump’s assertions of a trade imbalance between the US and Brazil, pointing to data from the US government that indicates a $410 billion surplus in goods and services trade over the previous 15 years.

The assertion that the United States has a trade imbalance with Brazil is untrue. The US government’s own statistics reveal that over the last 15 years, commerce in products and services with Brazil has exceeded $410 billion. The Economic Reciprocity Law of Brazil shall so govern the handling of any unilateral tariff rises. The principles that govern our interactions with the outside world are sovereignty, respect, and the steadfast protection of Brazilian interests,” Lula continued.

Trump demands the conclusion of Bolsonaro’s trial and puts 50% tariffs on Brazil.

After Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods in support of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly planning a coup to prevent Lula from taking government in 2023, diplomatic ties between the US and Brazil reached an all-time low.

The US president said that Brazil’s treatment of Bolsonaro is the reason for the 50% tax in the letter that was shared on Truth Social. He also accused Brazil of “attacking” US tech companies.

Earlier this week, Trump and Lula got into a public argument about the judicial procedures against the former Brazilian president, which Trump referred to as a “witch hunt.”

Like the majority of other leaders of nations, I knew and interacted with former President Jair Bolsonaro, and I held him in high regard. It is an international shame how Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, who is regarded as a highly respected leader worldwide, including by the United States, during his administration. There should be no trial like this. It’s a witch hunt that needs to stop right away,” the letter said.

Beginning August 1, 2025, we will impose a 50% tariff on all Brazilian goods sent into the United States, independent of all sectoral tariffs, in response to Brazil’s pernicious attacks on free elections and Americans’ fundamental right to free speech (as recently demonstrated by the Brazilian Supreme Court, which has issued hundreds of SECRET and UNLAWFUL Censorship Orders to US social media platforms, threatening them with millions of dollars in fines and eviction from the Brazilian social media market). It said, “Goods that are transshipped in order to avoid this 50% tariff will be subject to that higher tariff.”