Brazil's Lula strengthens Asia ties, vows to fight Trump tariffs
President defends multilateral trading system and hopes for Mercosur-Japan deal
TOKYO -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launched a defense of free trade and multilateralism in Tokyo on Thursday, while threatening to hit back at U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
"Multilateralism is significant," Lula told reporters a day after he met Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. "The country that once advocated free trade is now advocating protectionism," he said, referring to the U.S.
Nevertheless, Lula said his government is willing to respond in kind and "impose reciprocal tariffs" on the U.S. His remarks came hours after Trump announced a new 25% tariff on foreign-made cars, and days before the White House is expected to unveil a flurry of new tariffs on global trade partners on April 2, dubbed "liberation day."
In their meeting, Lula and Ishiba had emphasized a shared commitment to free trade and laid out the "Strategic and Global Partnership Action Plan Japan-Brazil" for the five years through 2030. The document states that "Japan and Brazil reaffirm their commitment to a free, open, fair, rules-based, nondiscriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system."
On Thursday, Lula said he "cannot understand" what Trump hopes to achieve by imposing the 25% tax on foreign cars, including those from Japan. "It is also a disadvantage for the U.S.," he said. "It will cause inflation. ... President Trump may not yet understand, but time will tell everything."
Trump this month also slapped 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Brazil is a key exporter of the metals and Lula said his government would appeal at the World Trade Organization.
Some observers have noted that Brazil could also benefit from the U.S.-China trade war, to an extent, becoming an even more competitive supplier of agricultural commodities such as soybeans. After Trump hit China with two rounds of blanket additional 10% tariffs, Beijing responded earlier this month with 10-15% tariffs on a range of U.S. farm goods, including soybeans.
Still, Lula said he is "concerned about increased tariffs in any industries" and lamented that a cold trade war between the U.S. and China "should not be allowed."
"Trade should be free," he said.
Lula, who will also serve as the rotating president of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) from the latter half of this year, hopes to push that philosophy and tighten trade ties with Asia, with Japan in focus. "I will actively work to conclude an agreement between Mercosur and Japan, just like with the EU," he said on Thursday.
In December, the European Union and Mercosur signed a trade and cooperation pact after 25 years of negotiations. This is the only deal that Mercosur has with a major trading bloc, giving products from Europe an advantage over imports from Japan or the U.S. But Lula said he wants to launch negotiations with Japan during Brazil's Mercosur presidency, although political considerations within Japan could make for an uphill battle.
Likewise, Brazil is pushing Japan to restart beef imports, long frozen due to Tokyo's cautious stance over safety, including concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). "We will let Japan send a delegation to inspect production sites in Brazil as soon as possible," Lula said. "We can provide beef with higher quality and cheaper prices than any other country. We hope to find a solution within this year."
After serving two earlier terms as president, from 2003 to the end of 2010, Lula was jailed over corruption allegations that he denies. The convictions were annulled by a court and he was allowed to run again in the 2022 election, when he scored a narrow victory over a man many critics consider the "Trump of the Tropics," then-incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. This week, Brazil's Supreme Court ruled that Bolsonaro should stand trial for alleged involvement in an attempted coup plot against Lula -- an accusation the former president called "baseless."
"I hope the Supreme Court will work in the way it should," Lula said when asked about the case.
Since returning to lead his divided country in January 2023, the former factory worker turned leftist politician Lula has sought to position Brazil as a key voice of the "Global South" emerging nations, alongside BRICS partners such as China and India.
At Thursday's news conference, Lula insisted that Washington should not be calling the shots on global affairs.
"The president of the U.S. is not the boss of the world," he said. "He should make a decision after exchanging opinions with partner countries."