Brasilia [Brazil], August 6 (ANI): Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday declared that he will not reach out to former U.S. President Donald Trump for negotiations, stating that Trump has no interest in dialogue. However, Lula added that he would extend a formal invitation to Trump to attend the upcoming COP climate summit.
“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,” Lula said.
His comments follow Trump’s recent announcement of a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods. On July 30, Trump signed executive actions imposing tariffs on Brazilian imports, including certain copper products, and suspended a tax exemption that previously allowed low-cost international packages to enter the U.S. duty-free, CNN reported.
The move came amid political tensions between Washington and Brasilia. In July, Trump threatened Brazil with a heavy tariff unless it halted legal proceedings against former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who faces trial over allegations of attempting a coup against Lula. Trump criticized Bolsonaro’s prosecution as “politically motivated” and described the legal actions as “serious human rights abuses that have undermined the rule of law in Brazil.”
Bolsonaro, who has often touted his close relationship with Trump, is currently under legal scrutiny for his alleged involvement in a failed plot to prevent Lula from assuming office after the 2022 elections.
Trump’s executive order claimed that the Brazilian government engaged in “persecution, intimidation, harassment, censorship, and prosecution” of Bolsonaro and his supporters, drawing sharp criticism from the Lula administration. (ANI)
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