Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called US President Donald Trump's letter announcing plans to impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods "absurd" and vowed to respond in the same way.
"If they demand 50 % from us, we will also insist that they pay 50 %. We are considering several possible responses," said in an interview with local TV station TV Record.
Lula again pointed to the inaccuracy of the information on bilateral trade provided by Trump, who cited the trade deficit with Brazil as the reason for the move.
"They claim that the United States has a deficit with Brazil, but that's not true. In 2023, we exported $40 billion worth of goods, while imports were $47 billion. We have a deficit of $7 billion. And if you add up the total amount over the last 15 years, Brazil's deficit with the United States is $410 billion," said the President.
"No one from the Treasury Department explained this to him before he wrote this absurd letter?"
CNN Brasil previously reported that Brasilia is seriously considering mirror measures. The Brazilian leader has already explained that Brazil will respond to US tariffs under the national law on reciprocal measures. The law was passed on April 11 and contains criteria for suspending trade concessions, investments and commitments related to intellectual property rights.
TASS/gnews.cz - GH
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