'I won’t humiliate myself'; Lula rejects US tariff pressure: Reuters
4 Min Read
Brazil's Lula da Silva rejects US tariff pressure, refuses direct talks with Trump, and calls for BRICS coordination to defend Brazil’s economic sovereignty.
-
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attends an event on the economy at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
As US tariffs on Brazilian goods surged to 50% on Wednesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ruled out any immediate direct talks with US President Donald Trump, citing concerns of potential "humiliation."
In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday from his official residence in Brasilia, Lula said Brazil would not announce reciprocal tariffs nor abandon cabinet-level dialogue, but he emphasized he would not reach out personally unless Trump showed openness.
"The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won’t hesitate to call him," Lula said, adding, "But today my intuition says he doesn’t want to talk. And I won’t humiliate myself."
Despite the US imposing one of the highest tariff hikes under Trump’s administration, Lula expressed confidence that Latin America’s largest economy has enough resilience to withstand the pressure. Unlike some Western counterparts, Lula appears determined to hold firm without ceding to Washington’s demands.
According to the report, the president noted that his government remains focused on domestic economic policies to mitigate the impact of US tariffs on Brazil, while upholding the principles of fiscal responsibility. He also hinted at upcoming measures, including credit lines and export assistance to support Brazilian companies, but declined to elaborate.
Lula described current US-Brazil relations as reaching a 200-year low after Trump linked the tariffs to his opposition to the prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. He is facing trial for plotting to overturn the 2022 election results.
Brazil’s Supreme Court, Lula emphasized, operates independently. "It does not care what Trump says and it should not," he said, labeling Bolsonaro a "traitor to the homeland."
"We had already pardoned the US intervention in the 1964 coup," Lula added. "But this now is not a small intervention. It’s the president of the United States thinking he can dictate rules for a sovereign country like Brazil. It’s unacceptable."
Lula calls for BRICS unity against US trade pressure
While Lula said he had no personal grievances with Trump and remained open to meeting him at the United Nations next month or at upcoming climate talks, he criticized the US president’s past treatment of foreign leaders.
"What Trump did with Zelensky was humiliation. That’s not normal. What Trump did with Ramaphosa was humiliation," Lula said. "One president can’t be humiliating another. I respect everyone and I demand respect."
In the report, Lula revealed that his ministers were struggling to initiate conversations with their US counterparts. As an alternative, he is turning to international cooperation, particularly with the BRICS bloc, to coordinate a possible joint response.
"There is no coordination among the BRICS yet, but there will be," he said, noting that collective pressure works similarly to union bargaining tactics. "What is the negotiating power of one little country with the United States? None." Brazil is also exploring a joint complaint at the World Trade Organization alongside other countries affected by the US measures.
Lula highlighted a new national strategy to treat Brazil’s mineral resources as an issue of "national sovereignty," marking a shift from the country’s historical pattern of exporting raw materials with limited domestic value-added benefits.
When asked about possible countermeasures targeting US companies, Lula said his administration is studying mechanisms to tax American tech firms on the same basis as Brazilian companies, aiming to level the economic playing field.
"I was born negotiating," said Lula, recalling his rise from poverty and labor union activism to the presidency. However, he stressed that Brazil would proceed with caution.
