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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned on Thursday that he would retaliate with his own tariffs if Donald Trump, the former US president, increased duties on Brazilian goods. While prepared to respond, Lula expressed a preference for improved relations over a trade war. Brazil is among the nations facing potential tariff hikes from Trump.
"It's very simple: if he taxes Brazilian products, Brazil will reciprocate in taxing products that are exported from the United States," the 79-year-old Lula told a press conference.
Lula, currently in his third term, said he would prefer to "improve our relationship with the United States" and boost trade ties with Brazil's second-largest trading partner after China.
"I want to respect the United States and for Trump to respect Brazil. That's all," he said. Citing Trump's comments that he plans to take back the Panama Canal or get control of Greenland, Lula said "he just has to respect the sovereignty of other countries."
Lula also underscored the global threats facing democracy.
"For me, democracy is the most important thing in humanity right now ... Either we keep democracy working or we will have states more authoritarian than Hitler and fascism."
Lula, whose country will host the COP30 UN climate talks in the Amazonian city of Belem in November, added that Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord was "a step back for human civilization." He said he did not want a summit where "measures are approved, everything looks very nice on paper and then no country complies," slamming wealthy nations for failing to meet previous promises to give billions of dollars to help developing nations deal with the fallout of climate change.
"We want something very real so that we can know if we are serious or not about the climate issue."
