The senator also declared that the president “is doing everything to provoke the United States”
The senator and pre-candidate for the Presidency (PL-RJ) stated, this Wednesday (June 3, 2026), that the president (PT) “he is the only person in Brazil who wants these tariffs”. The statement was made after the government of Donald Trump (Republican Party) proposed a 25% tax on a wide list of products from Brazil.
For the senator, Lula “cursed” the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, as a strategy to provoke the application of tariffs. “That’s why he’s doing everything he can to provoke the United States. And damn the Brazilian companies that will be harmed”he stated in a video published on his social networks.
Watch Flávio’s video (2min45s):
Lula silent is a poet. He knows how to sit at the table to defend narco-terrorists, but he cannot negotiate tariffs and trade.
— Flávio Bolsonaro (@FlavioBolsonaro)
The pre-candidate also said that, if Lula wanted tariffs not to be applied, he would act differently, as he did in his meeting with US President Donald Trump, when he asked not to tax Brazilian companies. “We are seeking the path of dialogue and diplomacy. If it depends on me, there will be no tariffs”said the senator.
This Wednesday (June 3), Lula and Rubio “doesn’t like Latin America, much less Brazil”. The speech was made 1 day after the announcement of the proposal for new tariffs by the Trump administration and that Brazil would not be a country “friendly”.
NEGOTIATIONS WITH TRUMP
According to Lula, Flávio hindered negotiations with Trump. On May 26, the senator met with the US president at the White House. “This son of Bolsonaro can be worse than him. They are sellouts of the country, traitors”stated the president.
Flávio said that Lula harms the relationship with the United States. “The reality is that this tariff belongs to Lula. Due to his aggressive tone towards the United States, his anti-American speech, for defending that the dollar should no longer be the standard currency in international relations”he pointed out.
TAX PROPOSAL
The government of Donald Trump (Republican Party) proposed a new 25% tax on Brazilian products, after the conclusion of an investigation by the USTR (Office of the US Trade Representative) that identified alleged commercial practices in Brazil “unreasonable” what “burden or restrict” North American commerce. The measure will still be analyzed in consultation with the private sector.
The new tariff leaves out strategic products for the North American market, such as meats, fruits and Brazilian coffee.
The Lula government assesses that the measure is politically motivated. The tariffs were proposed, in total, for 60 countries, including the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia.
In 2025, the Trump administration used the measure as a form of political bargaining with other countries, so that they could reduce the tariff applied.
In February this year, the Republican stated that he could use tariffs in a way “much more powerful and unpleasant”. In the same month, the US Supreme Court ruled Trump’s measure illegal.
The US president stated that the decision was “a shame for the nation”.
