Brasilia, Aug 27 Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that Brasilia is not willing to be treated as lesser by others, in an indirect response to Washington amid rising tensions with the United States.
Addressing the second meeting this year of his ministerial cabinet on Tuesday, Lula rejected foreign impositions and stressed that no one in Brazil is above the law.
Stressing Brazil's sovereignty, Lula said: "Anyone who wants to enter these 8.5 million square kilometres, our airspace, our maritime space, our forests, must be accountable to our Constitution and our legislation."
The Brazilian president also made comments on US President Donald Trump's imposition of steep tariffs on Brazilian goods and threats against any attempts to regulate large US technology companies, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Brazilian government is willing to sit down at the negotiating table with the United States "on equal terms," Lula said, adding, "What we are not willing to accept is to be treated as if we were subordinates."
On July 30, the Trump administration announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Brazilian exports and sanction Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice. Moraes is currently overseeing the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting to seize power following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.
Trump also called Brazil a "horrible trading partner" earlier this month, saying the trial against Bolsonaro was a "political execution."
On August 21, President Lula rebuked Trump, saying he "should not meddle" in Brazil's internal affairs.
"We need to know how to give people what they need: affection, comfort and treat them with love. That is the difference between governing and caring, because the right word is not governing, but caring," he said at an event in Sorocaba, a city in the state of Sao Paulo.
Lula added that he wants to care for Brazil, and Trump should not meddle in the country's affairs.
Stressing that the defence of sovereignty goes beyond protecting borders and resources, Lula said, "It is about protecting the people. That is what the sovereignty of a country is all about. That is why we are not afraid of being shouted at. In fact, we are polite. I don't yell at anyone."
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