The British newspaper Financial Times published on Tuesday (12) a report that speaks of the “unprecedented dispute” between Brazil and the United States and that it can “get worse”.
The text addresses the recent tariff that US President Donald Trump imposed on imports of Brazilian products, and the response that agent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been given.
The FT, as it is known, stated that “instead of calling the author of the tariffs”, the Brazilian president preferred to speak to Brics Allies-Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
The report did not mention Lula’s conversation with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping on Monday night (11).
“Lula’s response to the punitive measures of a country that was a nearby ally emphasizes the unconventional nature of the confrontation between Washington and Brasilia – a confrontation that shows no signs of rapid resolution,” said the British newspaper.
“Trump has shown in the past the ability to rapidly change its way, so that no dispute with your government is impossible to solve. But the impasse between the US and Brazil will not be easy to resolve-and it can easily get worse,” said FT, who claimed that Trump has “personally identified” with the situation of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Last Wednesday (6), a 50% tariff came into force on the importation of Brazilian products imposed by Washington.
The Trump administration mentioned as one of the reasons for the tariff the lawsuit against Bolsonaro in the Supreme Court (STF), on accusations of attempted coup after the 2022 election, judgment that the republican’s management considers a “witch hunt.”
However, the rate was not applied to about 700 Brazilian products, including orange juice and pulp and civil aircraft.
“Bolsonaro’s trial is not the only problem in US-Brazil relations. Trump wants the Brazilian Supreme Court to revoke the rigorous regulation of American social media companies, claiming that it has issued hundreds of ‘secret and illegal censorship orders,” the FT wrote.
“Trump complained about Brazil’s ‘unsustainable commercial deficits’, although American data show that the country had a commercial surplus of US $ 7.4 billion with the South American country last year,” added the British journal.
The FT cited the financial sanctions imposed at the end of July by the US Treasury Department against STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes based on Magnitsky Law, United States legislation that allows Washington to apply sanctions against accused of human rights and corruption worldwide.
He also mentioned that, before that, the State Department had announced the revocation of the Visas de Moraes, of “his allies” in the Supreme Court and his family members, who are prevented from entering the United States.
“The clash with Washington occurs at a delicate time for leftist veteran Lula, who is expected to run for a fourth term in the October 2026 elections, and for Brazil, whose population remains highly polarized between left and right,” said the FT.
