Brazil's Lula warns Trump's tariffs risk inflation, vows WTO challenge on steel

Tim Kelly and Lisandra Paraguassu

Wed, Mar 26, 2025, 8:42 PM 1 min read

By Tim Kelly and Lisandra Paraguassu

TOKYO (Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said U.S. President Donald Trump risked damaging the U.S. system with further tariffs and vowed to lodge a ailment with the World Trade Organization (WTO) implicit a commercialized levy connected Brazilian steel.

"It volition rise the prices of goods and could pb to ostentation that helium hasn't yet realised. Protectionism doesn't assistance immoderate state successful the world," Lula said connected Thursday astatine a property league successful Tokyo.

Trump connected Wednesday unveiled a 25% tariff connected imported cars and airy trucks starting adjacent week, widening the planetary commercialized warfare helium began aft becoming president successful January.

On March 12, his medication besides imposed a 25% tariff connected each alloy and aluminum from Brazil, the second-largest exporter to the American marketplace aft Canada. The Brazilian authorities has truthful acold failed to renegotiate a instrumentality to a argumentation of yearly tariff-free export quotas.

"We person 2 decisions to make. One is to entreaty to the World Trade Organization, which we volition do, and the different is to enforce higher tariffs connected American products. We can’t conscionable enactment quiet," Lula said successful Tokyo, wherever helium met Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba connected Wednesday for talks aimed astatine booster economical and commercialized ties.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly successful Tokyo and Lisandra Paraguassu successful Brasilia; Editing by Jamie Freed and Stephen Coates)