Brics summit: Brazil's Lula calls US duties 'tariff blackmail'; bats for 'multilateralism'

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday condemned what he described as "tariff blackmail," as Brazil contends with a 50 percent import duty imposed by his US counterpart Donald Trump.

"Tariff blackmail is being normalized as an instrument for market conquest and to interfere in domestic affairs," Lula said during a virtual BRICS meeting with leaders including China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa.Addressing the virtual summit, Lula said, "the presence of the armed forces of the largest power in the Caribbean Sea is a factor of tension," according to a translation of his remarks posted on the South African Brics presidency’s YouTube channel, as reported by AFP.Washington has deployed warships and aircraft to the Caribbean as part of what it calls an anti-drug operation. Last week, US forces destroyed an alleged drug vessel, killing 11 people that Trump said were linked to the Tren de Aragua criminal organization. Lula convened the virtual meeting to focus on “the defence of multilateralism.”Brazil said it is weighing retaliatory trade measures against the United States and has sought the World Trade Organization’s intervention to resolve the dispute.

The Brazilian president had unveiled the “Sovereign Brazil” plan last month, which is a year-long program worth 30 billion reais ($5.5 billion) designed to support exporters impacted by the 50% import tariff imposed by Trump on various Brazilian goods. Lula described the package as “a first step” to safeguard local producers. Lula also noted that he has never spoken directly with Trump, claiming the US president has shown no willingness to negotiate.“We cannot be scared, nervous and anxious when there is a crisis. A crisis is for us to create new things,” Lula said. Rejecting Washington’s justification for the tariffs, he added, “the reasons given to impose sanctions against Brazil do not exist.”The tariff decision is widely viewed as tied to Trump’s public defense of his ally, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. Echoing Bolsonaro’s supporters, Trump has claimed the case against him is politically motivated. Lula, however, emphasized that Brazil’s judiciary is independent and that the executive has no role in Supreme Court decisions.