President declared that the energy transition is inevitable and once again demanded respect for the WTO (World Trade Organization) 35% tariff limit
The president (PT) stated this Tuesday (4.Nov.2025) that the transition to a green economy needs to advance globally and criticized North American leader Donald Trump’s (Republican Party) disbelief in the issue. When commenting on trade negotiations with the United States, he said he was “tired of signing things taxing other countries” and defended that tariffs follow the 35% ceiling set by the WTO (World Trade Organization).
“There are people who don’t believe, for example, President Trump told me that he doesn’t believe in a green economy. He will believe, because at some point he will realize that we don’t have much of an alternative. At some point he will realize”declared in an interview with AP and to Reuters.
“I told him [Trump] that I recognize that one country can tax another. I’m tired of signing things taxing other countries, but within the compression limit and the limit established by the WTO [Organização Mundial do Comércio]”said the president
The PT member stated that the President of the United States, Donald Trump (Republican Party), applied a 50% tariff on Brazilian products with “based on an untruth”.
On July 9, the North American president justified the increase in tariffs by stating that the Brazilian government had treated the former president unfairly. (PL), whom he said he respected “deeply”. At the time, Trump also criticized the STF (Supreme Federal Court) and accused the Court of issuing “hundreds of secret and illegal censorship orders” against US media platforms.
FUEL ALTERNATIVES
When talking about other fuel alternatives in Brazil, the PT member said that the country does not need to fully follow European technological standards – such as Euro 6, Euro 7 and Euro 8 – as it already uses a mixture of 15% biodiesel in regular diesel. According to him, each new European standard increases the price of trucks and buses by around 15%, which makes transport more expensive and disregards national market conditions.
Lula stated that the world needs to move forward in the energy transition and criticized Trump’s disbelief in the environmental agenda. “There are people who don’t believe, for example, President Trump told me that I don’t believe in a green economy. He will believe it, because at some point he will realize that we don’t have much of an alternative. At some point he will realize”he declared.
IMPORT TARIFFS
According to data from (World Trade Organization), Brazil has higher import tariffs than other members. MFN tariffs – applied equally to countries with which there are no preferential agreements – are 12% for all products.
The average tariff applied reflects the tax actually charged on imports under the MFN regime (Most Favored Nation –most favored nation in Portuguese). The average consolidated tariff is 31.4%. It is the limit imposed by the international organization on its members.
This ceiling gives the government room to raise rates in certain sectors. This flexibility creates regulatory uncertainty for investors and business partners.
When considering the weighted average – which uses the weights of trade agreements –, Brazil is in 2nd place in the tariff ranking in 2022 data from the World Bank.
The average applied and consolidated tariffs in Brazil are significantly higher compared to those in developed countries, such as the United States, Canada and Japan.
In Latin America, the average Brazilian tariff is double that of Chile. It is also higher in relation to emerging nations, such as South Africa, China, Mexico and Russia.
Brazil remains among the most closed economies compared to developed and emerging economies. The list of those with lower tariffs includes the United States (3.3%), the European Union (5%) and Japan (3.7%). In the opinion of experts, this shows how much the Brazilian system still relies on traditional protectionist mechanisms to preserve its productive base.
The most protected sector in Brazil is agriculture. The average rate applied is 17.8%. The top 5 is made up of textiles and clothing (16%), footwear and leather (15.3%), automotive and transport (14.9%) and chemicals and plastics (12.5%). All are above the average tariff of 12% in Brazil.
Technology and electronic goods have an average applied tariff of 8.5%.
Brazil’s average import tariffs are one of the highest in the G20 and are only behind Argentina among South American countries. In the view of economists consulted by Poder360these indicators harm the country’s economic growth, of the Brazilian worker and result in an environment of low innovation.
