Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva responded defiantly on Wednesday to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose a 50% tariff on products from the South American nation, a move that Lula said would be reciprocated.
"Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions and will not accept any form of tutelage," Lula said in a statement released shortly after Trump issued the tariff threat.
To justify the threat, which sent Brazil's currency plunging, Trump condemned as a "witch hunt" the ongoing trial of his far-right ally, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was indicted late last year for attempting a coup following his 2022 election loss to Lula. The coup plot allegedly included a plan to poison Lula and kill a Supreme Court judge.
Trump also falsely claimed that the U.S. has a trade deficit with Brazil. In fact, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. had a $7.4 billion goods trade surplus with Brazil last year.
In his statement on Wednesday, Lula responded to each of his U.S. counterpart's claims, saying that the "judicial proceedings against those responsible for planning the coup d'état fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of Brazil's Judicial Branch and, as such, are not subject to any interference or threats that could compromise the independence of national institutions."
Lula went on to note that Trump's deficit assertion was "inaccurate," pointing to U.S. government figures showing "a surplus of $410 billion in the trade of goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years."
"Therefore, any unilateral tariff increases will be addressed in accordance with Brazil's Economic Reciprocity Law," said Lula. "Sovereignty, respect, and the unwavering defense of the interests of the Brazilian people are the values that guide our relationship with the world."
Lula has been an outspoken opponent of Trump's trade threats and bullying, saying after Trump attacked BRICS nations earlier this week that "we don't want an emperor."
"This is a set of countries that wants to find another way of organizing the world from the economic perspective," Lula said. "I think that's why the BRICS are making people uncomfortable."