Lula pushes back on US tariffs, says Brazil is the one running a trade deficit
Key takeaways
- If anyone should impose tariffs, he said, it would be Brazil.
- The US surplus over the past 15 years was 415 billion dollars.
- The remarks came after the US Trade Representative announced 25% tariffs on Brazilian products, under a Section 301 investigation, with some exemptions and a deadline in mid-July.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Brazilian President Luiz In cio Lula da Silva on Tuesday rejected the US government's argument that Brazil engages in unreasonable practices in the bilateral relationship, arguing that it is Washington that runs a trade surplus with his country. If anyone should impose tariffs, he said, it would be Brazil.
The US surplus over the past 15 years was 415 billion dollars. So we were the ones who should have raised taxes, not them, Lula said during the inauguration of a new campus of the Goiano Federal Institute, in Catal o. US government data indicate that the United States held a goods surplus with Brazil —one of the few G20 countries in that position— although the magnitude Lula cited is his own estimate.
The remarks came after the US Trade Representative announced 25% tariffs on Brazilian products, under a Section 301 investigation, with some exemptions and a deadline in mid-July. Lula recalled that he and President Donald Trump had agreed to a 30-day window to reach a trade understanding, after meeting in early May at the White House for more than three hours.