The President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said, on Thursday night (20), that he was happy with the withdrawal, by the United States government, of the taxes imposed on some Brazilian products. According to the president, Brazil is able to deal with the pressure of tariffs and has received respect from the USA.
“When the US president made the decision to overtax, everyone went into crisis and got nervous. And I don’t usually make a decision with a 39 degree fever. I wait for the fever to go down. If you make a decision with a fever, you will make a mistake”, he said when speaking at the opening of the International Auto Show, in the capital of São Paulo.
“And today I’m happy because President Trump started to reduce taxes. And these things will happen as we manage to gain respect from people, no one respects those who don’t respect themselves”, he added.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced, this Thursday (20), the removal of import tariff 40% on certain Brazilian products. The list released by the White House includes products such as coffee, tea, tropical fruits and fruit juices, cocoa and spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes and beef.
In the executive order published by the US Presidency, Trump says that the decision was made after a telephone conversation with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, “during which we agreed to begin negotiations to address the issues identified in Executive Decree 14,323.” According to the publication, these negotiations are still ongoing.
In a statement on social media, alongside vice-president Geraldo Alckmin and minister Fernando Haddad, Lula stated that the overturning of the 40% tax imposed by the North American government on several Brazilian agricultural products is a victory of dialogue, diplomacy and common sense.
“The frank dialogue I maintained with President Trump and the performance of our negotiating teams, formed by vice-president Geraldo Alckmin and ministers Fernando Haddad and Mauro Vieira on the Brazilian side, made important advances possible”, highlighted the president.
“This was a step in the right direction, but we need to move further. We will continue this dialogue with President Trump with our sovereignty and the interests of workers, agriculture and Brazilian industry as our guide.”
