Diplomatic Rift Between Brazil and U.S. Deepens as Lula Claims Trump Ignored Efforts to Avert Massive Tariff Hike

Brazil's efforts to avoid a steep U.S. tariff hike have been rebuffed, escalating a diplomatic rift rooted in former President Jair Bolsonaro's ongoing trial. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said. He added that the U.S. has not responded to Brazil's repeated attempts to negotiate before a 50% import tariff, announced by President Donald Trump, takes effect August 1.

"Brazil is used to negotiating," Lula said according to The Associated Press. "We had already 10 meetings with the United States. On May 16, we sent them a letter asking for clarification on the proposals we had made. They didn't respond. They responded through a website," he said, referencing Trump's July 9 post on Truth Social linking the tariff to Bolsonaro's prosecution, which Trump labeled a "witch hunt."

Lula had previously said that the country would not accept trade demands from President Trump, describing the tariff threats as "unacceptable blackmail."

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who also serves as Minister of Commerce, also said on Friday that he held a 50-minute call with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last weekend but declined to share specifics, stating it was confidential. "Brazil never left the table. We didn't create this problem, but we want to solve it," he said.

At the World Trade Organization on Wednesday, Brazil's Ambassador Philip Fox-Drummond Gough raised broader concerns about arbitrary tariffs disrupting global trade, without explicitly naming the U.S.:

"Arbitrary tariffs, chaotically announced and implemented, are disrupting global value chains and risk throwing the world economy into a spiral of high prices and stagnation"

Trump's tariff threat has had political consequences in Brazil. Lula's public approval, which had been falling, has ticked upward with a private poll conducted by Atlas showing a rise from 47.3% to 49.7%. Nearly two-thirds of respondents viewed the tariffs as unjustified.

The tariff threat was directly tied by Trump to Bolsonaro's legal troubles. "This trial should end immediately," Trump wrote in a letter to Bolsonaro. Brazilian authorities responded by escalating the case. On July 18, the Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor, banned him from using social media, and restricted contact with diplomats and co-defendants, including his son Eduardo Bolsonaro.