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Malay Mail
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Trump slaps 50pc steel tariff on Brazil in retaliation for Bolsonaro trial, Lula hits back over ‘interference'
Brasília, July 10 — Brazil and the United States escalated their row yesterday over President Donald Trump's support for coup-accused former leader Jair Bolsonaro, with the American president slapping a 50 per cent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Leftist Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has strongly criticised the prosecution of right-wing ally Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting to cling on to power after losing the 2022 election to Lula. Brasília on Wednesday summoned Washington's top envoy to the country to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of 'political persecution' — echoing Trump's claims of a 'witch hunt' against the 70-year-old Brazilian firebrand. Trump then announced he would slap a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian imports starting August 1, citing 'Brazil's insidious attacks on Free Elections' and warning of escalation if the country retaliates. In a letter addressed to Lula, Trump criticised the treatment of Bolsonaro as an 'international disgrace' and said the trial 'should not be taking place.' He added Washington would launch an investigation into Brazil's trade practices. While Trump has been issuing letters to trading partners — focusing on those his country runs a deficit with — Brazil had until now not been among those threatened with higher duties come August 1. The South American powerhouse is the second-largest exporter of steel to the United States after Canada, shipping four million tonnes of the metal in 2024. Lula wrote on X that 'any unilateral tariff increases will be addressed in light of the Brazilian Law of Economic Reciprocity.' On Monday, Trump angered Lula by urging Brazilian authorities to 'LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE,' in a post on social media. 'They have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year!' the US president wrote. Lula, who narrowly beat Bolsonaro in a divisive election in 2022, hit back at Trump's 'interference,' insisting that 'no one is above the law.' Bolsonaro denies he was involved in an attempt to wrest power back from Lula as part of an alleged coup plot that prosecutors say failed only for a lack of military backing. After the plot fizzled, rioting supporters known as 'Bolsonaristas' raided government buildings in 2023 as they urged the military to oust Lula. Bolsonaro was abroad at the time. The case against Bolsonaro carries echoes of Trump's prosecution over the January 6, 2021 attacks by his supporters on the US Capitol to try and reverse his election loss. Trump pleaded not guilty, and the case was abandoned when he was re-elected president. The cases have drawn the Trump and Bolsonaro families together, with the Brazilian ex-leader's sons lobbying for US sanctions against one of the Supreme Court judges sitting on the ex-president's trial. In his post on Monday, Trump suggested Bolsonaro was the favourite in presidential elections next year, despite him being banned from running for spreading disinformation about Brazil's voting system. Bolsonaro thanked Trump for his defence of 'peace, justice and liberty' in a social media post. On Wednesday, the US embassy in Brasília issued a statement to 'reinforce' Trump's support for the embattled former army captain, who risks a 40-year prison sentence. 'Jair Bolsonaro and his family have been strong partners of the United States,' read the note. 'The political persecution against him, his family, and his followers is shameful and disrespects Brazil's democratic traditions.' Members of the BRICS grouping, meeting in Brazil under host Lula this week, criticised Trump's imposition of import tariffs and his bombing of Iran. This drew the US president's ire and a threat of 10 per cent additional tariffs on each BRICS-aligned country. Lula insisted BRICS members were sovereign and did not want an 'emperor.' — AFP
Japan Times
09-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Brazil's Lula hosts Modi in bid to turn India into a major trade partner
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to deepen trade ties with India, the world's most populous nation. The question as he hosts Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Brasilia on Tuesday is how to go about it. Despite both nations being members of the BRICS grouping of emerging-market economies and natural allies in the fields of poverty reduction and biofuel production, India ranks well down the list of Brazil's trading partners. Total commerce is dwarfed by that with China, the U.S., neighboring Argentina and faraway Germany. It's a mismatch that the president known as Lula acknowledged last week, when he joked that he'd only just learned that Modi, a devout Hindu, didn't eat meat. Brazil is the world's No. 1 beef exporter. "Our trade relationship is just $12 billion, it's nothing,' Lula said at an event. "So please, arrange a box of cheese. I want it on the table so he never complains about Brazilian food and, who knows, maybe he'll start buying Brazilian cheese.' With U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs upending global commerce, Lula has spent months attempting to bolster trade relations with markets beyond Brazil's traditional partners. Now he's desperate to finally crack the code on a relationship that has never fully taken off, thanks to a litany of incompatibilities and the fact that Brazil and India often find themselves competing to sell the same goods. Trade has accelerated in recent years, doubling since they formed the BRICS bloc with China, Russia and South Africa more than a decade ago. It grew by 24% over the first five months of 2025 from the same period a year ago, according to Brazil's government. But India and the 1.4 billion people who call it home still remain a largely unrealized market for Brazil, an agricultural behemoth that has seen trade with China more than quadruple since BRICS launched in 2009, official data shows. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva | Bloomberg "When I was in India 20 years ago, our goal was to reach $15 billion,' Lula said at a press conference alongside Modi following their meeting. "We are determined to accelerate that target by tripling this amount in the short term.' Both leaders also expressed desires to expand a preferential trade agreement India has with Mercosur — the South American customs union formed by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay — in order to reduce trade barriers between them. Brazil is looking to diversify exports to India beyond sugar and crude oil that dominate current sales. Earlier this year, Brazil's Embraer — the world's third-largest planemaker — established a subsidiary in New Delhi in a bid to broaden its presence in India's defense and aviation sectors. Latin America's largest economy has spotted an opportunity in sesame, no matter that India ranks as one of the world's leading producers of the seed. Sesame exports have grown significantly since the Indian market opened to Brazil in 2020, in part because the South Asian nation imports it during the offseason to meet domestic demand and fulfill export commitments. It is also eyeing expanded ethanol exports, now that India is increasing the amount of the product it blends into gasoline. "That opens up an interesting opportunity for Brazil in the biofuels agenda,' said Gustavo Ribeiro, head of market intelligence at the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, or ApexBrasil. "India is a major sugar producer, but depending on the year and the size of the harvest, it sometimes imports sugar or even ethanol when there's a shortage. So Brazil becomes a strong alternative supplier of either sugar or ethanol.' Brazil has competition on that front: Modi's government has spent months pushing for a trade deal with the Trump administration to avoid U.S. tariffs, with Washington also seeking access to India's massive market for its own ethanol. Modi during a plenary session at the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday | Bloomberg Lula is passing the rotating BRICS presidency off to Modi after the Rio de Janeiro leaders summit that concluded Monday. The pair have used the bloc to bolster their ambitions of becoming permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, a goal they reaffirmed in Brazil and that is likely to be a priority for India in 2026. Trump has threatened to impose additional tariffs on BRICS members. Lula again pushed back, saying Tuesday that the group doesn't accept complaints about its meeting or interference in its affairs. Lula and Modi signed six agreements during the visit, including deals on renewable energy and counterterrorism. The meeting was the first of two state visits Lula will hold in the wake of the BRICS leaders summit, with Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto coming to Brasilia on Wednesday. Indonesia is central to Lula's efforts to expand trade with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 10-country bloc home to more than 600 million people. Brazil's commerce with the region has boomed to $37 billion from about $3 billion over the last two decades, according to government data. Lula's government is aiming to open Indonesia — which registered about $6 billion in trade with Brazil last year — to poultry and expand beef exports, while also deepening bioenergy and defense cooperation, according to his administration. The Brazilian leader is expected to travel to Malaysia in October for an ASEAN summit. For Prabowo, the visit is more than a commercial stop. Since taking office last October, he has adopted a more hands-on and high-profile foreign policy, focused on securing bilateral deals that deliver both economic and strategic gains. Indonesia recently joined BRICS, and the trip to Brazil is part of a push to position Southeast Asia's largest economy as a more active middle power with deeper ties across the Global South.
Reuters
08-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Brazil aims to triple trade flows with India, Lula says
BRASILIA, July 8 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday his country aims to triple trade flows with India from $12 billion last year "in the short term," without giving a more specific time frame. Speaking alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a state visit in Brasilia, Lula also said Brazilian planemaker Embraer ( opens new tab wants to strengthen its presence in India, partnering with companies there. Lula also said that expanding a preferential trade agreement between India and South American bloc Mercosur could help reduce both tariff and non-tariff barriers that are limiting trade.
Bloomberg
08-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Brazil's Lula Hosts Modi in Bid to Turn India Into a Major Trade Partner
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wants to deepen trade ties with India, the world's most populous nation. The question as he prepares to host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Brasilia on Tuesday is how to go about it. Despite both nations being members of the BRICS grouping of emerging-market economies and natural allies in the fields of poverty reduction and biofuel production, India ranks well down the list of Brazil's trading partners. Total commerce is dwarfed by that with China, the US, neighboring Argentina and faraway Germany.
Bloomberg
07-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Portugal Sees EU, US Reaching Trade Deal With ‘Very Low' Tariffs
Portuguese Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmento said he sees the European Union and the US reaching an agreement with tariffs potentially below 10% that would help keep trade flowing. 'It's possible to have an agreement with very low tariffs, an agreement that could be perceived as beneficial to both parties and that could continue to allow us to trade and to increase value for our citizens,' Sarmento said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Brussels. 'We expect to have an update of what the Commission was able to negotiate with the US administration,' in the EU finance ministers' meetings to be held today and on Tuesday.
