In yet another embarrassment for US President Donald Trump, who is on a tariff imposing spree, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that he will not call Trump to negotiate with him. Silva said that Trump is not interested in negotiation as it would be akin to “humiliation”.
Lula added that he would rather speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This comes as Trump’s tariffs against Brazil increased to 50 per cent.
“I’m not going to call Trump to negotiate anything, because he doesn’t want to talk. But rest assured, I will call Trump to invite him to come to the COP, because I want to know what he thinks about the climate issue. I’ll have the courtesy to call him. I’ll call him, Xi Jinping, I’ll call Prime Minister Modi, I’ll call. I just won’t call Putin, because Putin can’t travel right now. But I will call many Presidents,” he said on 5th August.
‘I’m NOT going to call Trump to negotiate’ – Lula
Brazilian Prez. says Trump has no interest in talking
He also reveals what he’ll be saying to Putin, Xi, and Modi pic.twitter.com/GCUlnsvviA
— RT (@RT_com) August 5, 2025
“The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won’t hesitate to call him. But today my intuition says he doesn’t want to talk. And I won’t humiliate myself,” Lula said in an interview.
The statement comes as Trump said that he would impose a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian goods. Trump on July 30 signed executive actions on Wednesday imposing a 50% tariff on Brazil, a 50% tariff on certain copper products and suspending a tax perk for all countries that allowed cheap packages to fly into the US dutyfree.
Earlier in the month of July, Trump in a letter threatened the hefty tariff if Brazil did not end its trial against right-wing former president, Jair Bolsonaro. He accused the Brazilian government of “serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil.” The new tariff on Brazil appeared to be spurred by non-economic matters. Bolsonaro bragged about his closeness with Trump. He is facing trial for allegedly attempting to stage a coup against Lula. Trump has publicly objected to that proceeding, and his order alleged Bolsonaro’s prosecution was “politically motivated.”
“The Order finds that the Government of Brazil’s politically motivated persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and thousands of his supporters are serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil,” the order read.
Lula expresses confidence in BRICS
President Lula also expressed confidence in BRICS and said that “There is no coordination among the BRICS yet, but there will be.”
The Brazilian President’s strong remarks have left Trump embarrased, again. Trump’s attempts to weaponise tariffs and use it as arm-twisting tactic against sovereign nations has not yielded any positive results for the US.
On 6th August, the Indian government issued a statement after Donald Trump issued an Executive Order slapping additional tariff of 25% on India for continued purchase of Russian oil. With the earlier announced tariff of 25%, this brings total tariff imposed on products imported by US to India to 50%.
The statement issued by the ministry of external affairs said that the Indian government reiterates that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable. The MEA spokesperson said, “We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India. It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest.”
The MEA statement added that India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.
Last month, Trump had announced new trade penalties on India, including a 25 per cent tariff on almost all Indian imports, effective from 1st August. Trump also expressed his frustration over India being a top buyer of Russian military equipment and energy.
The US President published a post on Truth Social on 1st August, calling Indian and Russian economies ‘dead’ and complaining about India imposing “the highest tariffs in the world”. He also blamed these tariffs for the low trade volume between the two countries.
However, Gplus reported earlier how the US itself has been continues to trade with Russia in various sectors. Even three years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States has not fully cut off its trade ties with Moscow. The US has imported more than $24.5 billion worth of Russian goods since January 2022. This year alone, it bought $1.27 billion worth of fertilisers, $624 million in uranium and plutonium, and nearly $878 million in palladium.
Import of non-ferrous metals such as palladium and aluminium were valued at $876.5 million for the period January to November in 2024. Inorganic chemicals made up $683 million, followed by power-generating machinery at $79 million and cork and wood manufacturers at approximately $64 million. Other commodities included nuclear reactors and machinery worth $80.81 million, prepared animal feed, iron and steel, and oil seeds, although these contributed smaller shares to the overall imports.
Ironically, when asked about US imports from Russia despite the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, Trump said that he does not known anything about it.
India refuses to break ties with Russia, PM Modi might visit China for SCO Summit
Besides calling out America’s hypocrisy, India is bolstering ties with Russia, giving a clear message that India cannot be arm-twisted into abandoning its allies at Trump’s whims. When Trump was signing excutive order imposing additional 25 per cent tariff against India, India and Russia signed protocol to deepen industrial and technological cooperation on 6th August.
Meanwhile, reports say that Prime Minister Modi will be visiting China later this month for the SCO Summit. PM Modi’s first such visit to China in the last seven years, indicates a shift in wind. India and China have their own set of issues to resolve, be it China’s aggression at LAC, backing of terror sponsor Pakistan, or blocking India’s actions in the UNSC, however, when it comes to protecting national interests and sovereignty against Western hegemony, the two countries seem ready to cooperate.
With India, Brazil and China refusing to bow down before Trump in the ongoing ‘game of tariffs’, the loudmouth US President’s efforts to ‘punish’ BRICS nations, only serving as a unifier.
