Lula Calls on Trump to Treat All Countries Equally
Lula urges Trump to treat countries equally amid strained relations.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Sunday, addressing Donald Trump from New Delhi, “We do not want a new cold war,” urging the US president to treat all countries equally, following the imposition of a comprehensive 15 percent additional tariff on Brazil’s imports in response to a setback it suffered from the US Supreme Court.
Speaking to reporters during his visit to India, Lula said, “I would like to tell US President Donald Trump that we do not want a new cold war. We do not want interference in the internal affairs of any other country; we want all countries to be treated equally.”
He stated that he did not wish to comment on the decisions of supreme courts in other countries, expressing optimism about his scheduled visit to Washington next month.
“I am convinced that relations between Brazil and the United States will return to normal after our talks,” he added, noting that all his country wants is “to live in peace, create jobs, and improve the lives of our people.”
After a crisis lasting several months, Lula and Trump have maintained repeated contacts since their first official meeting in October.
Following this rapprochement, the US administration exempted many Brazilian products from the 40 percent tariffs previously imposed by Washington, and lifted sanctions against a Brazilian Supreme Court justice who oversaw the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Trump.
Lula, who arrived in India on Wednesday to participate in a summit on artificial intelligence, said, “The world does not need more volatility; it needs peace.”
Upon his return to the White House, Trump imposed comprehensive tariffs based on a 1977 law that theoretically allows the executive branch to act in the economic sphere without prior congressional approval under an “economic emergency.”
However, the US Supreme Court ruled, with six of its nine justices agreeing, that Trump could not justify the comprehensive tariffs by citing an economic emergency.
During Lula’s visit, India and Brazil signed an agreement to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the field of basic and rare minerals.
