President Lula accuses Jair Bolsonaro’s son, now a presidential hopeful, of serving to triggered proposed US tariffs.
Revealed On 6 Jul 2026
Brazilian presidential hopeful Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, is asking the Trump administration to delay proposed tariffs on Brazilian items till after October’s election, as he tries to counter allegations from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that his household helped convey them about.
The Trump administration proposed the 25 p.c tariffs in June, citing alleged commerce violations together with unlawful deforestation and what it referred to as unfair digital fee practices, catching Brazil’s government by surprise. Lula had mentioned relations had been bettering after a White Home assembly with Trump in Might.
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The announcement got here shortly after Bolsonaro met senior US officers in Washington, prompting accusations again house that he had invited US strain on Brazil, with Lula accusing the right-wing senator of lobbying Washington to impose the tariffs.
He has since doubled down on these accusations, saying in a social media submit final week, “the origin of all this was motivated by the Bolsonaro household itself” and that Bolsonaro’s request to delay the tariffs till after the election was “yet one more act of treason in opposition to the Fatherland”.
Bolsonaro rejects the allegation, arguing as an alternative that it’s Lula who would acquire a political benefit if the tariffs had been imposed.
“New US tariffs on Brazilian merchandise would hand the present Brazilian authorities exactly the political victory it has been engineering,” Bolsonaro wrote in a submission to the Workplace of the US Commerce Consultant.
Brazilian officers have spent months attempting to steer Washington to not transfer forward with the tariffs. However Bolsonaro says the federal government hasn’t gone far sufficient to search out frequent floor with the US and is looking for a 180-day delay earlier than any ultimate resolution is made.
“Brazil holds common elections in October 2026, and the political panorama that determines the viability of any negotiated decision can be redefined inside roughly ninety days,” he wrote.
To this point, there’s little signal his efforts are paying off. In a response to a letter Bolsonaro despatched final month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned US officers nonetheless had “substantial variations” with Brazil over the problems they are saying justify the proposed tariffs.
The dispute has left Brazilians break up over who’s telling the reality. A Quaest ballot printed final month discovered 47 p.c of Brazilians agreed with Lula’s declare that Bolsonaro had inspired the US to impose tariffs, whereas 35 p.c agreed with Bolsonaro that he had tried to cease them.
Washington has till July 15 to determine whether or not to impose the tariffs which, if authorized, would nonetheless exempt beef, espresso, uncommon earth minerals and plane components. They might come on high of the tariffs Trump imposed final yr over what he described as a “witch hunt” in opposition to Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted months later.
Bolsonaro has made Brazil’s relationship with the US a central a part of his marketing campaign, as Trump has taken a extra lively position in Latin American politics. That has included the seize of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas and backing right-wing candidates throughout the area, together with Abelardo De La Espriella, who narrowly won Colombia’s presidential election final month.
