In China, Lula criticizes Trump’s tariffs and rejects protectionism

247 – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva once again criticized, this Monday (12), the trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, stating that protectionism threatens the global trade order and could lead to conflict.

Lula said he is “inconformado” (outraged) by the taxation that the U.S. president is trying to impose on the world and made a strong defense of multilateralism in a speech at the Brazil-China Business Forum in Beijing.

“That’s why I can’t accept the so-called taxation that the president of the United States [Donald Trump] tried to impose on planet Earth overnight, because multilateralism after World War II was what guaranteed all these years of harmony between nations. It wasn’t protectionism,” the president declared.

According to Lula, protectionism in international trade can lead to conflict, as has happened many times throughout history. “Protectionism in trade can lead to war, as has happened so many times in the history of humanity. What we want is multilateralism so we can practice free trade,” he said.