Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated Wednesday (Jun. 3) that Brazil will continue to seek new business partners to minimize the impacts of the trade policy adopted by the US. Lula chaired a ministerial meeting amid the announcement of new US tariffs on Brazilian products.

“We will seek out other partners. If they don’t want to buy, we’ll sell to whoever does. We won’t just sit around complaining. If they don’t want to invest here, we’ll look for someone else. Brazil is its own master. This is a democratic and sovereign country,” he told his cabinet ministers.

Notícias relacionadas:

• “We should have raised the tariff,” Lula says on US policy.
• US government proposes new 25% tariff on Brazilian products.

On Monday (1), the US Trade Representative (USTR) proposed, among other measures, a 25 percent tariff on certain Brazilian goods imported by the US. The USTR report is the result of an investigation launched a year ago by President Trump’s administration into Brazil’s alleged “unfair trade practices” with the US.

Among other issues, to justify the measure, the agency accuses Brazil’s instant payment system Pix of “unfairly” harming US companies that provide electronic payment services – such as credit card operators MasterCard and Visa and WhatsApp Pay.

G7 summit

President Lula stated he will attend the G7 summit in June in France, which had not been part of his plans originally. The event brings together the leaders of Germany, Canada, the US, France, Italy, Japan, and the UK. Brazil will attend as a guest of the host, French President Emmanuel Macron.

“I wasn’t even going to the G7, but now I am. Someone needs to try to bring order to the house and stop this dismantling of multilateralism, democracy, and the devaluation of institutions. If the UN isn’t working today, we’re not going to fix the world by destroying the UN; we’re going to fix it by rebuilding the UN,” said Lula, reaffirming his support for strengthening the United Nations and reforming its Security Council.
 

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.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazilian exports to US fall 11.3% in April amid high tariffs.
• Lula, Trump instruct ministers to resolve tariff issues within 30 days.

“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.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that Brazil could be “much better off” if the people had not been influenced by lies told during the election period by politicians uncommitted to the poor.

The statement was made during the delivery ceremony of 576 affordable housing units in Manaus, Amazonas state. With an investment of BRL 92.1 million, the project is likely to benefit 2 thousand people.

According to Lula, people like those in the audience – who have benefited from the government’s affordable housing program – are often treated as “invisible” by most politicians.

Maturity and seriousness

The president asked voters to show “maturity and seriousness” in distinguishing truth from lies when deciding the future of Brazil, given the spread of false information using AI on social media.

“Brazil could already be doing much better as a country. If that’s not the case, it’s because every now and then we elect someone who has no commitment to anything. These are people who hold the office of president, but have never spoken to you, never seen you, and don’t care about the poor,” he said.

In the view of these people, he went on to argue, the poor only matter during election season.

“You should know that, when it comes to deciding the fate of this country, this city, this state, you have to act with great maturity and seriousness. We can’t keep believing the lies we’re fed 24 hours a day on our phones,” he argued.

“Now they’ve come up with something called artificial intelligence, which is great for health care, education, science, and technology. It’s great for so many things. But I don’t think it’s any good for elections, because artificial intelligence can spread a lot of lies through cell phones. So we’re going to have to be really responsible, because this country needs serious people,” he added.

Last Wednesday (May 20), Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed a decree aimed at strengthening the protection of women in the digital environment. The decree outlines the obligations of digital platforms regarding crimes of violence against women online and establishes tools to prevent and combat online violence.

Lula also signed four laws aimed at expanding protections for women and strengthening mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable. The new rules:

    • create the National Registry of Offenders;
    • expand the circumstances under which an abuser can be immediately removed from contact with the victim;
    • tighten measures against criminals who continue to threaten women even after arrest; and
    • reduce red tape to speed up the enforcement of protective measures and court orders.

The signing took place during a ceremony at the Planalto presidential palace to mark the 100th day of Brazil’s national pact against femicide, launched in February by the federal government, the National Congress, and the judiciary.

Lula argued for the inclusion of misogyny and combating violence against women in school curricula, as well as initiatives that promote a cultural shift in gender relations. In Brazil, approximately 70 percent of cases of violence against women occur within the home.

“Men haven’t realized that jealousy is one of the most violent diseases we have [...]. There are people who are so jealous they won’t let their wives have a beer with friends after work, go to a soccer game, or go alone to a concert or the theater. This needs to be addressed,” said the president. “How are we going to overcome this problem if not through education?” he added.

National pact

The national pact against femicide calls for coordinated and ongoing action among the three branches of government. It also recognizes that violence against women in the country constitutes a structural crisis that cannot be addressed through isolated measures.

“What we are demonstrating here is that silence and inaction do not help. What we are realizing here is that when the state shows it is fulfilling its obligations, people begin to have confidence,” said the president.

He went on to emphasize that the problem does not only concern the woman or girl who is a victim, but the entire community. “Everyone should feel violated when a 12-year-old girl is violated,” he argued.

Violence online

The decree on the protection of women in the digital environment establishes mechanisms to ensure that platforms fulfill their duty to prevent gender-based violence and act swiftly to address such situations.

From now on, companies must take action to curb the spread of crimes, fraud, and violence within their ecosystems and reduce any harm caused to victims, especially in situations involving the non-consensual exposure of nude images – even if created by artificial intelligence – of girls and women, as well as threats, stalking, and coordinated harassment.

The decree also requires platforms to maintain a specific, permanent, and easily accessible channel for reporting intimate content shared without consent, with a requirement to remove the material within two hours of notification.

In addition, companies must preserve evidence and information necessary for investigating and holding perpetrators accountable.

The prohibition on the use of artificial intelligence to produce fake or sexualized intimate images of women is now included in the scope of preventive measures required of platforms. The move aims to address the rise of sexual deepfakes, which have also been made a crime by Congress.