Lula tells the newspaper that he has reciprocity mechanisms to deal with Trump's tariffs

"In addition to being unfair, the new tariffs are a strategic error: they will harm the United States economy and the partnership between the United States and Brazil. Several American industrial sectors depend on Brazilian inputs. Food, footwear, textiles, furniture, auto parts and many other products will become more expensive for American consumers," said Lula in the publication.

The US decided to apply a 12.5% tariff to Brazil based on Section 301 of the Trade Act, in an investigation into failures to combat the import of products made using forced labor.

The surcharge was announced on Thursday (23) and is in addition to the 25% already imposed in another investigation involving Brazilian products. The decision culminates in an accumulated rate of 37.5% for various sectors and products.

"In the medium term, these tariffs will disrupt supply chains that are currently deeply integrated, and Brazilian companies will replace their American suppliers with partners from other regions," Lula said in the article.

The president stated that Brazilian exports to the United States reached the lowest level since 1997. "Comparing the first six months of 2025 and 2026, bilateral trade with the United States decreased by 12.8%, while Brazil's trade with the European Union grew by 6.1% and its trade with China increased by 15.9%."

Lula cited data from Global Trade Alert, an independent organization based in Switzerland that estimated that Brazil and Türkiye are the second countries most subject to tariffs by the United States, behind only China. "This is despite the surplus between the United States and Brazil in bilateral trade in goods and services, which totaled US$428 billion over 15 consecutive years," he said.

Lula stated that the announcement of the new tariffs disregarded "dozens of meetings" between teams from Brazil and the USA, in addition to "solid technical arguments and documents that I personally delivered to President Trump".

"This says a lot about the inconsistency between the interests that the United States proclaims in its national security strategy and the policies it adopts in relation to the Western Hemisphere," said the PT member.

"Latin America and the Caribbean need neither aircraft carriers patrolling their waters nor punitive tariffs. What we lack are reliable and predictable partners. At a time when the United States is closing its market, other countries have emerged as alternatives, offering a positive agenda capable of promoting economic and social development," he added.

Lula declared that Trump's allegations to justify tariffs against Brazil are unfounded.

"Freedom of speech is not a free pass for criminal activity on social media platforms – we will not compromise on protecting our families and children from the greed of a handful of technology oligarchs."

The Brazilian president also defended Pix. "Our payment system, Pix, does not discriminate against American companies and is an international reference in digital public infrastructure."

Lula said he was convinced that "joining efforts around concrete initiatives involving investments, trade and the fight against organized crime is the way to overcome the evils that afflict a hemisphere that belongs to all of us."

"We respect the sovereignty of other States and negotiate with all those who know how to respect ours. Reciprocity is the foundation of every relationship between nations, and we have the appropriate mechanisms to guarantee it", he stated. "We are ready to continue maintaining an open and constructive dialogue, as required by the relationship between two countries like Brazil and the United States. But the destiny of Brazil is up to Brazilians alone to determine – without foreign interference or subservience", he declared.

Read Also: PL launches Flávio Bolsonaro's candidacy for President