Trump Rules Out Tariff Talks with Brazil’s Lula
(MENAFN) U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he currently has no intention of discussing tariffs with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, although he left the door open for future dialogue. The remarks came as Trump once again expressed strong support for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
“Maybe at some point I'll talk to him. Right now, I'm not,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before heading to Texas to visit flood-stricken communities.
Lula earlier reacted sharply to Trump’s tariff plans, accusing Bolsonaro of orchestrating a backchannel effort through his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, to pressure the U.S. president into using trade penalties as leverage.
Calling Bolsonaro a "coward who plotted a coup in this country," Lula claimed that he "sent his son to the United States to ask Trump to threaten us: 'If you don't release Bolsonaro, I'm going to impose tariffs on you.'"
Lula further criticized Trump, saying he is "misinformed," and emphasized that Bolsonaro—who has been indicted over his alleged involvement in an attempted coup after his 2022 election defeat—would face trial and serve a prison sentence if found guilty, regardless of international threats.
Later that day, Trump continued to speak out in Bolsonaro's defense.
"President Bolsonaro is being treated very unfairly. He's a good man. I know him well. I negotiated with him," Trump told reporters. "He was a very tough negotiator, and I can assure you he was a very honest man who loved the Brazilian people."
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