SAO PAULO: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called new US tariffs unfair and a strategic mistake in a Sunday opinion column for The Washington Post, warning they would harm the countries’ bilateral partnership and drive up costs for US consumers.
“This month, disregarding dozens of meetings between our teams, solid technical arguments, and documents I personally handed to President Trump, the US government imposed new tariffs on Brazil ranging from 12.5 percent to 37.5 percent,” Lula wrote.
The new duties follow the US Supreme Court striking down last year’s 50 percent tariffs, Lula noted, adding that food, footwear, textiles, furniture, auto parts, and many other products will become more expensive for US consumers.
The US Embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the column.
Lula also cited Global Trade Alert, an independent organization based in Switzerland, as saying that Brazil and Turkiye are now the second most heavily tariffed countries by the United States, behind only China.
