By Luciana Magalhaes
SAO PAULO, July 26 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called new U.S. tariffs unfair and a strategic mistake in a Sunday opinion column for The Washington Post, warning they would harm the countries’ bilateral partnership and drive up costs for U.S. consumers.
“This month, disregarding dozens of meetings between our teams, solid technical arguments, and documents I personally handed to President Trump, the U.S. government imposed new tariffs on Brazil ranging from 12.5 percent to 37.5 percent,” Lula wrote.
The new duties follow the U.S. Supreme Court striking down last year’s 50% tariffs, Lula noted, adding that food, footwear, textiles, furniture, auto parts, and many other products will become more expensive for U.S. consumers.
The U.S. Embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the column.
Lula also cited Global Trade Alert, an independent organization based in Switzerland, as saying that Brazil and Turkey are now the second most heavily tariffed countries by the United States, behind only China.
This is despite a U.S. trade surplus with Brazil in goods and services that totaled $428 billion over 15 consecutive years, Lula said.
In the opinion piece, published the day after Trump ally and conservative presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro launched his campaign, Lula noted that Brazilian exports to the U.S. have hit their lowest level since 1997.
“In the medium term, these tariffs will disrupt supply chains that are currently deeply integrated, and Brazilian companies will replace their U.S. suppliers with partners elsewhere,” Lula said.
Brazil is open to a constructive dialogue with the U.S., Lula said, but the country must decide its own future.
“Brazil’s destiny is for Brazilians alone to determine — without foreign interference or subservience,” he said.
(Reporting by Luciana Magalhaes; Editing by Alexander Smith)
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