Brazilian president says ‘if he charges us 50%, we’ll charge him 50%’ after Trump cited trial of Bolsonaro to justify tariff
Brazil threatened to hit back against Donald Trump’s plan to introduce 50% tariffs on its exports with its own 50% tariff on US goods, setting the stage for a precipitous trade war.
“If he charges us 50%, we’ll charge him 50%,” Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, told local news outlet Record, a day after Trump threatened to impose steep duties on Brazilian goods and accused the country of conducting a “witch-hunt” against its former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing a trial over his attempt to overturn his 2022 election defeat.
Brazil could appeal to the World Trade Organization, propose international investigations and “demand explanations”, Lula suggested. “But the main thing is the Reciprocity Law, passed by Congress,” he told Record, referring to recent legislation designed to defend Latin America’s largest economy from tariff attacks.
Because Europe, Canada, Australia want to keep options open instead of throwing their lot with China, which they see as a potential threat too. Brazil has little to lose, because the only threat to them right now is the US and their Bolsonarist bitches.