Brasilia, Aug 15 Brazil will not bow down to the United States, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, countering the claim by his US counterpart Donald Trump that Brazil is "a horrible trading partner."
"It is a lie when the US President says that Brazil is a bad trading partner. Brazil is good, it just won't bow down to the US government," Lula said during an event in the northeast state of Pernambuco on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Earlier in the day, Trump said Brazil is a "horrible trading partner," calling the trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro a "political execution."
Lula said that "democracy is judging Bolsonaro."
Earlier on Wednesday, Brazil launched a package of measures to support exporters hit by a 50 per cent tariff imposed by the US government.
The initiative, called Sovereign Brazil, provides 30 billion reais (about $5.562 billion) in affordable loans, tax breaks and other measures, prioritising small businesses and those dealing in perishable foods.
It also facilitates public procurement from affected rural and agro-industrial sectors, modernises the export guarantee system, and reactivates a programme to refund taxes in the production chain.
In a speech during the announcement, the Brazilian President rejected the US government's arguments for imposing tariffs on Brazilian products.
"It is important to say that we cannot become nervous, apprehensive, or overly excited when there is a crisis. Crises exist so that we can create new things. The unpleasant thing is that there are no justified reasons for imposing tariffs on Brazil," he said.
While the tariff is unjustified, Brazil will not apply reciprocal measures for the time being, he added.
"We are not announcing reciprocity. Take note of how good we are at negotiating. Initially, we don't want to do anything that would justify worsening our relationship," he added.
He referred to one of the reasons the White House gave for imposing tariffs: that putting Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro on trial for attempting to overthrow the government to stay in power was a human rights violation.
"Brazil had no reason to be taxed, and we will not accept any accusations that we do not respect human rights in Brazil and that our trial is being conducted arbitrarily," Lula said.
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