On Thursday, August 14, U.S. American President Donald Trump stated that Brazil is a “poor trading partner”, has bad laws, and is conducting a political prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
“Brazil has been a horrible trading partner in terms of tariffs. As you know, they charge us huge tariffs, much, much higher than what we charged them. In fact, we practically didn’t charge anything.”
– Donald Clown Trump
Despite Trump’s assertion, Brazil has been running a trade deficit with the U.S. for 17 years, meaning Americans sell more to Brazil than they buy. Brazil exports mainly commodities and primary goods like crude oil, coffee, and iron and steel products, while imports from the U.S. include aircraft components.
Crying about Laws
Trump also commented on Brazil’s laws and the political situation involving Bolsonaro,
“And Brazil has some very bad laws going on. They took a [ex] president and they’re putting him in jail or trying to put him in jail. And I know this man, and let me tell you, I’m good at evaluating people. I think he’s an honest man, and I think what they did… That’s really a political execution they’re trying to do with Bolsonaro. I think that’s terrible.”
Here he comments about Bolsonaro, a fellow felon who tried to overthrow the brazilian government on january 8th, 2023, after losing the election(something Trump also attempted).
On August 6, 2025, a 50% tariff on Brazilian exports to the U.S.(about 12% of the country’s total exports) imposed by Trump took effect. This tariff affects 36% of Brazil’s exports to the U.S., including significant items such as agricultural machinery, meats, and coffee.
However, about 43% of the export value is exempt due to approximately 700 exceptions, including petroleum derivatives, orange juice, and civil aviation products, sparing companies like Embraer. On top of that, China and Mexico both increase imports of the remaining products.
Around 20% of Brazil’s exports to the U.S., including steel, aluminum, and auto parts, are subject to specific sectoral tariffs. The U.S. had already imposed a 10% surcharge on Brazil since April, which Trump increased to 50% due to political issues.
Lula Responds
In response, President Lula of Brazil criticized Trump’s tariffs.
“If the U.S. doesn’t want to buy, we won’t be crawling or crying. We’ll look for other countries and move forward. I’ve learned to walk with my head held high. I want this country to be respected.”
– Lula, Brazilian president.
Lula emphasized Brazil’s historical partnership with the U.S. and the readiness of his ministers to negotiate, despite the current impasse. “We are partners with them for 200 years, our diplomatic relation is very old. This is not just today,” he pointed out, also highlighting that Trump was misinformed about the trade balance.
Lula’s speech was delivered during the inauguration of Hemobrás’ new industrial plant in Goiana, Pernambuco. The plant will produce high-cost medications from human plasma, such as Albumin, Immunoglobulin, and Coagulation Factors VIII and IX, used for treating severe burns, ICU patients, hemophilia, rare diseases, and during major surgeries. The investment for this project was R$1.9 billion.
Lula also has two more events scheduled in Pernambuco on the same day, including a visit to a private hospital in Recife and the delivery of land regularization titles in Brasília Teimosa.
Clown vs Actual President
Since January 2025 Brazil under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has signed multiple bilateral and multilateral accords. Examples include:
- French business pledge: ~BRL 100 billion in planned investments (announced in Paris). Gov.br
- ~$4.5 billion in Chinese investment pledges after Lula’s Beijing visit. Reuters
- Ten agreements + 80 cooperation instruments signed during state visit (trade, economy, energy transition, etc.) with Japan. AP News
- Brazil–Caribbean Summit — six agreements / MoUs (13 Jun 2025). Gov.br
- Multiple MOUs / joint statements with India during Modi visit (8 Jul 2025). mea.gov.in
- State-level Action Plan (2025–2030) establishing strategic partnership with Vietnam. Agência Brasil
- Strategic alliance / cooperation items with the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). acs-aec.org
- 20 cooperation agreements signed with China (May 2025). Gov.br
- New ministerial-level trade mechanism with India and steps to expand the India–MERCOSUR preferential trade coverage. Prime Minister of India
- Brazil reaffirmed aim to conclude Mercosur–UAE trade agreement and deepen Gulf investments (mid-2025 discussions). Gov.br
- Six cooperation agreements in areas like human rights, agriculture, energy, and security with Angola. Ecofin Agency
By contrast, Trump has been unable to actually sign a single agreement in paper, mostly just posing to the camera claiming countries would give billions to the U.S.
