Brazilian presidential candidates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro hold opposing views on the US tariffs that have hit Brazilian exports this year, and on how Brazil should deal with President Donald Trump. The disagreement has become a central theme of the second-round campaign.
The tariffs and the government’s response
A 25 percent surcharge on Brazilian goods took effect on 22 July, after a US trade investigation. A further 12.5 percent tariff, linked to a forced labour investigation, followed two days later. Together they raise the charge to as much as 37.5 percent on part of Brazil’s exports.
The Lula government has contested the measures and appealed to the World Trade Organization. It has also begun procedures to assess countermeasures under the Economic Reciprocity Law. Lula cited a 9 percent decline in trade between Brazil and the United States.
Two different answers to Washington
Lula said on 15 October, in a Jornal Nacional interview, that he believed in a deal with Washington. He did not rule out a Brazilian response.
Flávio Bolsonaro took a different line. He said his brother, federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in the United States, was wrong to thank Trump for the tariffs. He defended the family’s work in Washington, however, and proposes closer alignment with the US, including joining the Shield of the Americas.
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Points of friction
Lula criticises the US decision to classify Brazilian criminal factions as terrorist organisations. Flávio’s platform would align foreign policy with the US strategy against drug trafficking. The two positions point to very different trade relationships with Washington.
