Lula says Brazil cannot ‘accept treatment’ after new US tariffs proposed

Key points

• Brazil’s president says he was surprised by the proposed 25 percent tariffs, which came amid signs of improving relations.
• Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has decried newly proposed United States tariffs, saying he could “not accept the treatment” his country had received.
• The rebuke on Wednesday came a day after the administration of US President Donald Trump announced the 25 percent tariff on certain Brazilian imports, appearing to roll back an emerging detente between the two countries.
• Lula said he had left a May meeting at the White House with Trump optimistic that relations were improving.
• During the first year of Trump’s second term, which began on January 20, 2025, the two leaders had butted heads over issues of trade, human rights and politics.