President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva countered on Tuesday (Jun. 2) the US government’s argument that Brazil engages in “unreasonable” practices in their relationship. Lula reiterated that the United States has a trade surplus with Brazil and said that, if anyone should impose tariffs, it should be Brazil.

“The US trade surplus over the past 15 years has been USD 415 billion. So, if anyone should be raising tariffs, it should be us, not them,” Lula said. He also noted that both he and US President Donald Trump had agreed to a 30-day deadline to reach an agreement on the trade issue.

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“As you know, I recently visited the United States. I had a three-hour conversation with President Trump. His secretary of commerce began to say that there were tariffs, and I said there was a disagreement between his secretary of commerce and my secretary of commerce,” the president said, noting that he had handed over documents showing that the United States has a favorable trade balance with Brazil.

“So I told him [Trump]: let’s give each other 30 days to prove who is right and who is wrong. If I’m wrong, I’ll accept it; if you’re wrong, you’ll accept it. And we gave each other 30 days. So far, the two [secretaries] have spoken three times, and no agreement has been reached,” he added.

The conversation between the two, as mentioned by Lula, took place in early May at the White House, where they discussed trade relations, the fight against international organized crime, and the exploitation of strategic minerals.

Opposition backs tariff hike

Lula spoke at the inauguration of the new campus of the Federal Institute of Goiás in Catalão. He also recalled the stance taken by the sons of former President Jair Bolsonaro when Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on all Brazilian products exported to the US. Without naming anyone, he cited a post by Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who at the time thanked Donald Trump for the tariffs on Brazilian products.

“On the day he [Trump] imposed the tariffs, I’ll tell you what Bolsonaro’s sons did. One of them, who is a presidential candidate, tweeted on July 9, 2025: ‘Thank you, Trump, make Brazil free again,’” he recalled. “His son, who appeared on television today to say he didn’t say anything, actually thanked him.”

On social media, Flávio Bolsonaro said he asked Trump not to impose tariffs on Brazilian products. The two met at the White House in late May.