Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday accused Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro and Rep. Eduardo Bolsonaro, the sons of former President Jair Bolsonaro, of acting as “traitors to the nation” by lobbying the United States to impose economic penalties on Brazil. Lula said the brothers traveled to Washington in late May and directly asked the Trump administration to apply a 25% tariff on Brazilian products and to take action against Brazil’s widely used PIX electronic payment system.
The accusation came days after the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative completed an investigation that recommended the tariff as a response to Brazilian practices that “burden or restrict” U.S. commerce. The report cited concerns with PIX, illegal deforestation, intellectual property piracy, and gaps in anti-corruption enforcement. The proposed tariff would exempt goods Washington considers strategically important, including beef, fruit, coffee, aircraft and rare earth materials.
Lula said the pushback from the Bolsonaro sons undermined ongoing trade negotiations. He recounted that during a recent White House meeting with President Donald Trump, he had presented documents showing what he described as the favorable trade relationship between the two countries. The two leaders agreed to a 30-day period to reach an agreement on trade issues.
“I left convinced that we were establishing a new framework for a democratic and civilized relationship. And I must confess that yesterday’s decision surprised me,” Lula said Wednesday, according to Brazilian state news agency Agencia Brasil.
On Tuesday, Lula had been more pointed. “Those Bolsonaro sons have managed to be even worse than him. They have traded away the nation,” he said at an event in Catalao, according to Brazilian outlet G1. “They went to ask a foreign country to interfere in Brazil’s decisions. They are traitors. What do traitors to the nation deserve when they ask another country to intervene against our people?”
Flavio Bolsonaro rejected the accusation. In a statement posted on social media, the senator and presidential candidate said he urged Trump not to impose tariffs during their meeting and sent a letter to the U.S. president reaffirming that position.
Lula also criticized U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Brazil was not considered a U.S. ally, alongside Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Colombia. “He is anti-Latin America. I already told Trump he does not like Brazil,” Lula said at an event in Goias state, according to Grupo Metropole.
Lula announced he would attend the G7 summit in France this month as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron, a trip he had not previously planned. “I was not even planning to attend the G7, but now I am. Someone has to restore order and stop this dismantling of multilateralism, democracy and the devaluation of institutions,” he said.
According to Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, the proposed U.S. tariffs could directly affect 21% of Brazil’s exports to the United States. The Brazilian government and affected companies have until July 15 to submit comments on the trade representative’s report.