Trump's Tariff Hike: Lula Plans Joint Response with BRICS Leaders

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) plans to contact BRICS leaders to discuss a joint response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs. The statement was made by Lula in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday (6).

Lula said he will first call Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping .

In addition to Brazil, China and India, the BRICS group, which brings together emerging economies, also includes South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and Russia.

According to Lula, the idea is to build a unified position among emerging countries in the face of what he considers an "abusive action" by the Trump administration.

"I'll try to discuss with them how each of them is doing within the situation, what the implications are for each country, so we can make a decision," Lula said. "It's important to remember that the BRICS has ten countries in the G20," referring to the group that brings together 20 of the world's largest economies.

He also announced that he will speak with Modi this Thursday (7), and that he intends to organize a business mission to India in the coming months to expand markets.

In this sense, the president reinforced that his international relations are not ideologically based, but are built around strategic and economic interests.

According to him, the central objective of dialogue with different heads of state—regardless of political affiliation—is to generate concrete benefits for the countries involved. This signal comes at a time of heightened trade tension with the US and a rapprochement with Asian countries like China, following the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Despite criticism of Trump's new stance on the economy and the impact of tariffs on Brazil, Lula reaffirmed that he intends to personally invite the US president to COP30 , scheduled for November 2025 in Belém (PA).

According to him, the climate conference needs to include all relevant global actors. "He can't be left out," he said amid the deteriorating diplomatic climate.

"Trump is throwing away the opportunity to talk to the most democratic president in Latin America," said Lula.

"If Trump knew I liked to talk, he would have talked to me already," the president added.

On Wednesday, an additional 40% tariff on Brazilian products came into effect, adding to the reciprocal tariff of 10%, totaling 50%. The White House, however, excluded 694 items from the surcharge, such as Embraer aircraft, orange juice, and petroleum.