President Lula of Brazil: U.S. Customs is completely out of place

Brazilian President Lula and the President of the United States, Tran, on August 21, local time, objected to the recent imposition of tariffs by the United States Government on Brazilian goods. He stated that the tariffs imposed by the United States on Brazil were “not only completely out of line with reality, but based on lies”. Lula stated that the issue of customs duties would be interviewed by the trade officials of the United States of America and pointed out that the allegations of deforestation and slave labour in Brazil were simply not true. On 15 July, the United States Office of the Trade Representative announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on selected Brazilian products, effective 22 July, and a new 10 to 12.5 per cent tariff on dozens of countries and territories, including Brazil, for “forced labour”. The Brazilian Government has initiated procedures under the Economic Reciprocity Act to counter the new United States Government tariff measures。