MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula asks Trump to explain 25% tariffs on Brazil, speaks of a “war of truth”

“The war I want to wage with him is a war of narrative, a war of truth. I want to show the world who is telling the truth in this tariff war between Brazil and the United States,” Lula said

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva publicly called on his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to explain the reasons behind the 25% tariffs he imposed on most Brazilian products, a measure Brasília attributes to political rather than commercial motives. The levies, announced on July 15 by the Office of the US Trade Representative, will take effect on July 22.

“The war I want to wage with him is a war of narrative, a war of truth. I want to show the world who is telling the truth in this tariff war between Brazil and the United States,” Lula said on Friday during a visit in Rio de Janeiro. The president, who is seeking reelection in the October 4 vote, said his country was “a peaceful people” and that Washington would not manage to deceive Brazilian society.

The tariffs are applied under Section 301 of US trade law, following a yearlong investigation that concluded Brazil engaged in unfair trade practices. Washington cited the treatment of US technology companies, barriers to ethanol, intellectual-property protection, the PIX payment system, and illegal deforestation linked to agribusiness. The measure includes broad exemptions, among them coffee, beef, oranges, some energy products, and aerospace parts. A parallel investigation into forced labor, concluding next week, could add a further 12.5%.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio blamed Lula for the outcome of the negotiations and said he had not negotiated “in good faith,” arguing that the president had put his “ego” ahead of a deal. Lula rejected Washington's arguments: he said his government has reduced deforestation, that 76% of the US products Brazil imports pay no duties, and defended his country's right to regulate digital platforms and to keep PIX, which he described as “a heritage” of the Brazilian people.

The dispute moved to the center of the election campaign. Lula's main rival, right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, rejected the government's accusations that his family had promoted the levies in Washington and attributed the measure to Lula's own handling of the matter. He and his brother, former congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, met with Trump at the White House in May.

The tariffs come on top of the 50% ones Trump had imposed in 2025, explicitly tied to the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro — a Trump ally — sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to overturn his 2022 election defeat. Brazil's government estimates the new levies could affect 18% of its exports to the United States, some $7.4 billion, and is weighing reciprocity measures and support for affected sectors.