Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva walks past flags during at the G7 summit, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Evian-les-Bains, France. (AP Photo\/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-07-03T19:38:26Z<\/p>\n
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) \u2014 Brazil\u2019s President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva<\/a><\/span> and his rival Sen. Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro<\/a><\/span> clashed over U.S. tariffs this week, as both sought to discourage the Trump administration from following through with its proposal of applying taxes of 25% on Brazilian products<\/a><\/span> despite an extensive U.S. trade surplus.<\/p>\n The two top candidates for October\u2019s presidential election traded barbs over their responses, suggesting that they believe how they are perceived as handling the deeply unpopular U.S. tariffs will be a key factor in the vote.<\/p>\n While Sen. Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro<\/a><\/span>, emphasized that the tariffs would strengthen Lula, Brazil\u2019s government rebuked the argument that its trade policies are unreasonable, discriminatory or burdensome to U.S. commerce.<\/p>\n The Trump administration first imposed a 50% tariff<\/a><\/span> on Brazilian imports last July, citing a \u201cwitch hunt\u201d against Jair Bolsonaro, who was on trial at the time for attempting a coup despite his 2022 electoral defeat<\/a><\/span> to Lula and was later convicted.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n In his letter, U.S. President Donald Trump also accused Brazil<\/a><\/span> of unfair trade practices and said he had directed U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to initiate an investigation, which led the office to charge Brazil with lax anti-corruption enforcement and unfair tariffs, among other things, in June. The U.S. has had a goods trade surplus with Brazil for years.<\/p>\n After relations between the two countries appeared to warm following meetings between Lula and Trump last year, the U.S. proposal to impose tariffs in June led to a renewed souring of relations<\/a><\/span>, with Lula warning the U.S. leader against meddling in the country\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n The move prompted Lula to again defend Brazil\u2019s sovereignty<\/a><\/span>, a discourse that last year struck a chord and gave Lula an unexpected boost of popularity<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro himself pointed to the impact on public opinion in the document he sent to the office of United States Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cBrazilian public polling shows that the incumbent government\u2019s electoral position has strengthened during precisely the periods when U.S. tariff pressure has been most salient,\u201d he wrote in the document, which included graphs of the polls, adding that the proposed tariffs would hand the government a \u201cpolitical victory.\u201d<\/p>\nImpact on public opinion before elections<\/h2>\n