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.
Good. The US doesn’t understand anything else. The more countries call the bluff and just fight back, the more the US will screw over itself, while strengthening ties between everyone else.
Shame on some EU countries and companies that chose to let Trump dictate them instead. It will only lead to worse demands from the US.
And the UK too