Brazil’s Lula urges Trump to treat all countries equally

NEW DELHI - Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged US President Donald Trump on Feb 22 to treat all countries equally after the Republican leader imposed a 15 per cent tariff on imports following an adverse Supreme Court ruling.

“I want to tell the US President Donald Trump that we don’t want a new Cold War. We don’t want interference in any other country, we want all countries to be treated equally,” Mr Lula told reporters in New Delhi.

The conservative-majority

Supreme Court ruled six to three on Feb 20

that a 1977 law Mr Trump has relied on to slap sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade, “does not authorise the President to impose tariffs”.

Mr Lula said he would not like to react to the Supreme Court decisions of another country, but hoped that Brazil’s relations with the United States “will go back to normalcy” soon.

The veteran leftist leader is expected to travel to Washington in March for a meeting with Mr Trump.

“I am convinced that Brazil-US relation will go back to normalcy after our conversation,” Mr Lula, 80, said, adding that Brazil only wanted to “live in peace, generate jobs, and improve the lives of our people”.

Mr Lula and Mr Trump, 79, stand on polar opposite sides when it comes to issues such as multilateralism, international trade and the fight against climate change.

However, ties between Brazil and the United States appear to be on the mend after months of animosity between Washington and Brasilia.

As a result, Mr Trump’s administration has exempted key Brazilian exports from 40 per cent tariffs that had been imposed on the South American country in 2025.

‘Affinity’

“The world doesn’t need more turbulence, it needs peace,” said Mr Lula, who arrived in India on Feb 18 for a summit on artificial intelligence and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ties between Washington and Brasilia soured in recent months, with Mr Trump angered over the trial and conviction of his ally, the far-right former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro.

Mr Trump imposed sanctions against several top officials, including a Supreme Court judge, to punish Brazil for what he termed a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison

for his role in a botched coup bid after his 2022 election loss to Mr Lula.

Mr Lula said that, as the two largest democracies in the Americas, he looked forward to a positive relationship with the United States.

“We are two men of 80 years of age, so we cannot play around with democracy,” he said.

“We have to take this very seriously. We have to shake hands eye-to-eye, person-to-person, and to discuss what is best for the US and Brazil.”

Mr Lula also praised Mr Modi after India and Brazil agreed to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths and signed a raft of other deals on Feb 21.

“I have a lot of affinity with Prime Minister Modi,” he said.

Mr Lula will travel to South Korea later on Feb 22 for meetings with President Lee Jae Myung and to attend a business forum. AFP