Trade war: Lula da Silva pledges counterattack to Trump's tariffs

"Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions," President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva responded to Donald Trump, after he announced 50% tariffs on the South American country. As such, he added, it "will not accept any form of tutelage."

In recent days, Trump took the imposition of tariffs after a pause to allow time to negotiate bilateral agreements. The affected countries were notified by letters, which were made public.

In the missive addressed to Lula, Trump assured that former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was suffering a "witch hunt" that should "end IMMEDIATELY" and that the country's Supreme Court was attacking free elections and freedom of expression:

In his rejoinder, the socialist leader affirmed that Brazil will respond according to its Economic Reciprocity Law, which allows retaliation against countries that impose barriers to trade—a regulation approved by Parliament on Liberation Day—. The response could trigger a further escalation from the U.S.: Trump had vowed that if Lula’s government retaliated with tariffs, he would raise the newly announced rates even higher.

The socialist leader also responded to several of the Republican's criticisms. On the court case against Bolsonaro for allegedly leading a failed coup d'état, he assured that the process fell  "exclusively under the jurisdiction of Brazil´s Judicial Branch," so it was not "subject to any interference or threats that could compromise the independence of national institutions."

"In the context of digital platforms, Brazilian society rejects hateful content, racism, child pornography, scams, fraud, and speeches against human rights and democratic freedom," he responded to accusations of increasing censorship, and on those of injustices against U.S. companies operating in the country he said:

"In Brazil, freedom of expression must not be confused with aggression or violent practices. All companies—whether domestic or foreign—must comply with Brazilian law in order to operate within our territory."

He also asserted that figures supporting a trade deficit were "inaccurate." "Statistics from the U.S. government itself show a surplus of $410 billion in the trade of goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years," he wrote.

The Brazilian president's response to his second largest trading partner, behind China, came after a meeting with close partners of his government. Hours earlier, he had summoned the number one of the US embassy on Brazilian soil, Gabriel Escobar, to ask for explanations about a note from the legation that described Bolsonaro as a victim of "political persecution."