Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated on Wednesday that the 50% tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump will trigger the country’s economic reciprocity laws.

This allows for the suspension of trade, investment, and intellectual property agreements with countries that impair South America’s competitiveness.

“Brazil is a sovereign country with independent institutions that will not accept being taken for granted by anyone,” Lula had stated.

In a powerful statement, he defended the country’s legal system and said that the United States has had a trade surplus with Brazil of more than $410 billion over the last 15 years.

Trump cited what he called unfair treatment of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial accused of trying to overturn his 2022 election loss, as he announced the new 50% duties on import goods from the South American nation, showing that personal grudges rather than simply economics are sometimes driving his use of tariffs.

According to a US official, Ukraine’s armaments have been assessed rather than delayed.

A White House official said Wednesday that the Pentagon never announced a “pause” on weapon shipments to Ukraine, but rather a review to verify that U.S. military support is consistent with its security strategy.

The official spoke under the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the topic.

 

 

 

Earlier Wednesday, two US officials said the Trump administration had resumed supplying some weapons to Ukraine, a week after the Pentagon ordered that some deliveries be halted.

“Statistics from the US government itself show a surplus of $410 billion in the trade of goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years,” da Silva wrote on social media.

Trump sent tariff letters to 22 countries, imposing country-specific tariffs effective from Aug. 1.

Those included Brazil, with a 50% tariff rate. But the letter to Brazil also followed the US president’s criticism of the trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

He also responded to Trump’s criticism of the country’s treatment of Bolsonaro and censorship targeting American platforms.

“Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions and will not accept any form of tutelage,” the Brazilian president said.

He underlined that the judicial proceedings against those responsible for planning the coup d’état fall “exclusively” under the jurisdiction of Brazil’s judicial branch and, as such, are not subject to any “interference or threats” that could compromise the independence of national institutions.