After new US tariffs, Caiado criticizes Marco Rubio's speech about Lula The PSD presidential candidate, Ronaldo Caiado, classified as "unfortunate" the statement made by the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, about President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) after the confirmation of new US tariffs on Brazilian products. In an interview with g1 this Thursday (16) during an agenda in RS, Caiado said that he disagrees with the stance adopted by the representative of the United States government and stated that political differences cannot result in losses for the population and the Brazilian economy. “Without a doubt, Rubio’s statement was an unfortunate statement,” he says. ? Access the g1 RS channel on WhatsApp The demonstration takes place after Rubio published criticism of the Brazilian president on social media and stated that the tariffs imposed on Brazil would be a consequence of the way the Lula government conducted negotiations with the United States. "So that there is no confusion about the reason: President Lula and his government would not negotiate with the US in good faith," wrote the secretary. Rubio also said he thought the Brazilian president put "his own ego ahead of making an agreement for the well-being of the Brazilian people" and that "tariffs are the price for that." The United States Secretary of State makes it clear that the motivations behind the pricing come from a political analysis. Reproduction / "A country should not be punished, the 215 million Brazilians, Brazil that works and produces cannot suffer from these penalties", he says. Regarding the economic impacts of tariffs, Caiado said that measures of this type could cause job losses, company closures and difficulties for productive sectors, especially agriculture. In the pre-candidate's assessment, the relationship between Brazil and the United States does not justify the adoption of trade sanctions of this size. He highlighted that the Americans have a favorable balance of trade and stated that the measure ends up serving Lula's political interests. Marco Rubio and Ronaldo Caiado REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein; Reproduction/ RBS TV 'Lula fought for taxation' Caiado criticized the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government, stating that the president was more concerned with his own re-election than with the country. "Lula really fought for taxation, because he wants to seek a patriotic speech, a defender of sovereignty and wants to surf in the same condition that the candidates for the presidency of Canada and Australia surfed at that time when Trump taxed us", he declared. He also cited US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who this Thursday published on social media that "President Lula and his government did not negotiate with the US in good faith". "Marco Rubio made it clear that it was an inelegant way in which President Lula has treated the (Trump) government. You clearly see that there is something in Lula's interest to provoke the United States, wanting to comply with their wishes at this moment, which is taxation." Agenda in RS Caiado criticizes negotiations with the USA on tariffs: 'Lack of attitude from the chancellery' On Friday, Caiado will participate in two events. The first will be in the morning, in Santo Ângelo, at Grupo Tradição e Folclore, in Parque da Fenamilho. In the afternoon, he will be at the Itaimbé Palace Hotel, in Santa Maria. This year, Caiado has already been to Rio Grande do Sul on two occasions. In April, he participated in the Freedom Forum, in Porto Alegre and, in May, in the launch of Gabriel Souza's pre-candidacy, also in the capital. During his first visit to the state as a pre-candidate, he declared that his main objective in the electoral race is to "break with polarization". "Brazil does not have this polarization trait. Those who feed on it only slow the country down. I come with a single objective: to definitively break this bubble and make Brazil return to being a country where politics can return to debating issues that concern the lives of citizens." MORE