Brazil's efforts to avoid a steep U.S. tariff hike have been rebuffed, escalating a diplomatic rift rooted in former President Jair Bolsonaro's ongoing trial. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said. He added that the U.S. has not responded to Brazil's repeated attempts to negotiate before a 50% import tariff, announced by President Donald Trump, takes effect August 1.
"Brazil is used to negotiating," Lula said according to The Associated Press. "We had already 10 meetings with the United States. On May 16, we sent them a letter asking for clarification on the proposals we had made. They didn't respond. They responded through a website," he said, referencing Trump's July 9 post on Truth Social linking the tariff to Bolsonaro's prosecution, which Trump labeled a "witch hunt."
