By Peter Omopo
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has accused the United States of using “tariff blackmail” after Washington imposed a 50 percent import charge on Brazilian goods, a move that has already dented the country’s exports.
Speaking during a virtual meeting of BRICS leaders on Monday, Lula said the punitive tariffs — introduced by US President Donald Trump — were undermining fair trade and sovereignty.
“Tariff blackmail is being normalized as an instrument for market conquest and to interfere in domestic affairs,” Lula told fellow leaders Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
According to official figures, Brazil’s exports to the US fell 18.5 percent year-on-year in August following Trump’s decision to apply his highest tariff rates on a range of Brazilian products.
Trump has defended the move as retaliation for what he described as a “witch hunt” against his ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently on trial over allegations of plotting a coup after losing the October 2022 election to Lula. A verdict in Bolsonaro’s case is expected later this week.
In response, Brazil has warned it could introduce retaliatory tariffs of its own and has already petitioned the World Trade Organization to intervene in the escalating dispute.
The trade row comes at a sensitive time for Brazil, which has been working to deepen cooperation within BRICS while also maintaining access to the US market, its second-largest trading partner.
