On July 30, US President Donald Trump declared bilateral relations with Brazil a national emergency in order to justify raising import tariffs. In a menacing statement entitled “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil,

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has delivered a fiery rebuke to the United States, accusing Washington of aiding a coup in Brazil and using economic threats as political weapons. Speaking at a Workers’ Party event in Brasília,

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Brazil is open to trade talks with Donald Trump but only if his country is treated as an equal to the US, reiterating that he won’t bow to political pressure from the US president.