TOKYO: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told reporters in Tokyo on Thursday that his country “cannot stand still” in response to US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
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.
In February, Lula vowed “reciprocity” in response to a 25 percent levy on steel imports announced by Trump.
But after the policy came into effect on March 12, the Brazilian finance minister said Lula had decided not to retaliate and instead called for “calm”.
On Thursday, the last day of a state visit to Japan, Lula said Trump needs to “measure the consequences” of his tariffs on the United States, such as inflation.
“We are going to take the approach that we think will be good for Brazil,“ he said.
“We have two options: one is to resort to the World Trade Organization, which we are going to do, and the other is to overtax the American products that we import -- that is, to put the law of reciprocity into practice,“ he said.
“We cannot stand still believing that only they are right and that only they can tax other products.”
Lula, 79, had said on Wednesday that he expects talks between South America’s Mercosur bloc and Japan on a trade deal to begin in the second half of the year.
Lula has portrayed such an agreement as a way for the two economies to boost trade in the face of growing protectionism under Trump.
Four Mercosur members -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay -- in December struck a free-trade deal with the European Union although it still faces hurdles before final approval.
On Thursday, Lula also reacted to Brazil’s Supreme Court ordering far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro to stand trial on charges of plotting a coup.
“I only hope that justice is served. If he (Bolsonaro) is found innocent in the proceedings, let him be declared innocent. If he is guilty, let him be punished,“ Lula said.
“He has no way of proving that he is innocent,“ Lula said. “Everyone knows what he did.”
