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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday urged U.S. President Donald Trump to treat all countries equally following the imposition of a 15% tariff on imports after an adverse U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
“I want to tell U.S. President Donald Trump that we don't want a new Cold War. We don't want interference in any other country; we want all countries to be treated equally,” Lula told reporters in New Delhi.
The conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court ruled six to three on Friday that a 1977 law Trump relied on to impose sudden levies on individual countries “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.”
Lula said he would not comment on another country’s Supreme Court decisions but expressed hope that Brazil’s relations with the United States “will go back to normalcy” soon.
The 80-year-old Brazilian leader is expected to travel to Washington next month for a meeting with Trump.
“I am convinced that Brazil-U.S. relations will go back to normalcy after our conversation,” Lula said, adding that Brazil only wanted to “live in peace, generate jobs, and improve the lives of our people.”
Lula and Trump, 79, hold opposing views on multilateralism, international trade and climate change.
Relations between Washington and Brasilia deteriorated in recent months after Trump expressed anger over the trial and conviction of his ally, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Trump imposed sanctions on several senior officials, including a Supreme Court judge, describing the legal action against Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt.”
Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in a failed coup attempt following his 2022 election loss to Lula.
Despite months of tension, ties appear to be improving. The Trump administration exempted key Brazilian exports from 40% tariffs that had been imposed on the South American country last year.
“The world doesn’t need more turbulence; it needs peace,” Lula said.
Lula arrived in India on Wednesday to attend a summit on artificial intelligence and hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Saturday, India and Brazil agreed to strengthen cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths and signed several other agreements.
“I have a lot of affinity with Prime Minister Modi,” Lula said.
He is scheduled to travel to South Korea later Sunday for talks with President Lee Jae-myung and to attend a business forum.
Referring to Brazil and the United States as the two largest democracies in the Americas, Lula said he looked forward to building a positive relationship.
“We are two men of 80 years of age, so we cannot play around with democracy,” he said.
“We have to take this very seriously. We have to shake hands eye-to-eye, person-to-person, and discuss what is best for the U.S. and Brazil.”
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