Brazil President Lula pledges reciprocity after Trump’s 50% tariff announcement

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday, July 9, (local time) said his country would act with reciprocity, hours after US President Donald Trump levied the nation with 50% tariffs on exports to the US”Any measure to unilaterally raise tariffs will be responded to in accordance with Brazil’s Economic Reciprocity Law,” Lula’s office said in a statement.

In a letter posted to his social media account, Trump cited Jair Bolsonaro

— the right-wing former president and Lula rival who is facing a trial on charges that he attempted a coup following his 2022 election defeat.
Trump made a direct link to politics, saying he was making the change “due in part to Brazil’s insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans.”
The charges against Bolsonaro, a leader who mimicked Trump’s political style during his presidency, stem from an investigation into post-election riots in Brazil’s capital that have drawn comparisons to the January 6, 2021 insurrection attempt in Washington.Bolsonaro has repeatedly appealed for Trump’s help as his legal woes mount.

Brazil had been set to face the minimum 10% levy under the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs Trump originally unveiled in April.

The letter, the latest of more than 20 posted by Trump in recent days, was the first substantial upward revision from previously announced rates.

The US is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner, trailing only China, and such a high tariff could cause significant damage to some of the South American nation’s industries.

With agency inputs