Following criticism from Lula, the White House says Trump is the "leader of the free world" and maintains pressure on Brazil.
The statement comes after Lula said in an interview with CNN International that "Trump was elected president of the United States, not emperor of the world."
247 - The White House responded this Thursday (17) to criticisms made by President Lula (PT) against Donald Trump's trade threats. In a press conference, spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt stated that the Republican “is not trying to be emperor of the world”, but insisted on associating Brazil with supposedly unfair trade and environmental practices, without presenting consistent evidence.
"President Trump is certainly not trying to be the emperor of the world. He is a strong U.S. president and also the leader of the free world, and we have seen great change around the world because of this president's strong leadership. As for Brazil, the president sent a letter announcing his new tariff percentage and also instructed our trade representative, Jamierson Greer, to initiate an investigation into Brazil under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, created to address unfair foreign practices that affect U.S. trade," Leavitt stated.
The statement comes after Lula asserted, in an interview with CNN International, that "Trump was elected president of the United States, not emperor of the world," referring to the American's threats to impose a punitive 50% tariff on Brazilian products starting August 1st. Trump conditioned the measure on the legal situation of former president Jair Bolsonaro, currently a defendant for attempted coup d'état.
Leavitt's statement reinforces the imperialist tone adopted by the White House under Trump's leadership, asserting that the Republican is "the leader of the free world" and that Brazil has failed in areas such as intellectual property protection and the environment.
"For years, we have known that Brazil's digital regulations and weak intellectual property protections harm our technology and innovation companies, and its tolerance of illegal deforestation and environmental practices puts American producers, manufacturers, farmers, and ranchers who adhere to the highest environmental standards at a competitive disadvantage. So, this president [Trump] always acts in the best interests of the American people and will continue to do so," the spokesperson added.
Unlike other countries that remained silent in the face of Trump's unilateral threats, Lula stated that the country "will not accept anything imposed" and that it is willing to negotiate, but based on mutual respect. "We accept negotiation, not imposition," he declared to CNN.
The president also rejected any attempt at external interference in the Brazilian judicial process, recalling that Bolsonaro's trial is the responsibility of the Judiciary, not the Executive. "Bolsonaro is not being judged personally, but for the acts he attempted to organize in order to stage a coup d'état," Lula said.
