Lula's government returns Trump's letter and recalls head of US embassy

The Lula (PT) government announced to the United States Chargé d'Affaires in Brasilia, Gabriel Escobar, that it would symbolically 'return' Donald Trump's letter sent to Brazilian authorities in which he announced the unilateral imposition of 50% tariffs on Brazilian products.

The Brazilian delegation told Escobar that the document was offensive and contained incorrect statements, such as the justification that the country had a deficit when the US had a surplus. In the letter, the Republican president again called the Supreme Court case against Jair Bolsonaro (PL) for the 2022 coup attempt a "witch hunt."

In the document, Trump called Bolsonaro's treatment an "international disgrace" and said the trial "should not happen."

"Please understand that the 50% figure is far less than what is necessary to have the level playing field we should have with your country," Trump said in the letter to Lula. "This is necessary to rectify the grave injustices of the current regime."

Escalation of tensions

Earlier, the Brazilian government had summoned the United States Trade Representative to protest its support for Bolsonaro. Tensions escalated on Monday, when Trump took to social media to allege that Bolsonaro was the target of a "witch hunt" in the investigation into the attempted coup.

Lula quickly responded that Brazil is "a sovereign country" and does not accept "interference or tutelage from anyone." "Have your say in your life, not ours," the Workers' Party member added on Monday the 7th, at a press conference during the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro.