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We Will Reciprocate If Trump Hikes Tariffs – Brazilian President

Published

8 months ago

January 30, 2025

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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Thursday that if US counterpart Donald Trump hiked tariffs on Brazilian products, he would reciprocate — but that he would prefer improved relations over a trade war.

The Latin American giant is one of the countries that Trump has threatened with higher tariffs.

“It’s very simple: if he taxes Brazilian products, Brazil will reciprocate in taxing products that are exported from the United States,” the 79-year-old Lula told a press conference.

Lula, currently in his third term, said he would prefer to “improve our relationship with the United States” and boost trade ties with Brazil’s second-largest trading partner after China.

“I want to respect the United States and for Trump to respect Brazil. That’s all,” he said.

Citing Trump’s comments that he plans to take back the Panama Canal or get control of Greenland, Lula said “he just has to respect the sovereignty of other countries.”

Lula also underscored the global threats facing democracy.

“For me, democracy is the most important thing in humanity right now … Either we keep democracy working or we will have states more authoritarian than Hitler and fascism.”

Lula, whose country will host the COP30 UN climate talks in the Amazonian city of Belem in November, added that Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord was “a step back for human civilization.”

He said he did not want a summit where “measures are approved, everything looks very nice on paper and then no country complies,” slamming wealthy nations for failing to meet previous promises to give billions of dollars to help developing nations deal with the fallout of climate change.

“We want something very real so that we can know if we are serious or not about the climate issue.”

The president held a wide-ranging press conference in the capital Brasilia, urging journalists not to hold back in their questions as his government seeks to reclaim the narrative after battling a wave of disinformation.

After undergoing emergency surgery to stop a brain bleed in December linked to an earlier fall, Lula vowed he was fully recovered and had “the energy of a 30-year-old.”

With less than two years left of his third presidential term, Lula’s approval rating has sunk to 47 percent, according to a Quaest poll published this week, with a notable drop in support from his key electoral base in the low-income northeast of the country.

Lula said he was “not worried” about opinion surveys, and brushed off concerns about high interest rates and public debt.

As expected, the central bank on Wednesday hiked the key interest rate by one point to 13.25 percent, despite a new bank president being appointed by Lula — who has in the past criticized interest rate hikes.

“The president of the central bank cannot make a U-turn in a stormy sea,” Lula said, adding that he had faith in new bank chief Gabriel Galipolo who would have “autonomy to do whatever is necessary.”

Lula also sought to ease concerns over government interventions to lower food prices and vowed his commitment to “fiscal responsibility.”

His government is weighing reducing import tariffs on certain goods, and he highlighted the need to provide more financing to ramp up production, saying he was working on a plan with banks for “the largest credit program in the history of this country.”

Concerns over Brazil’s ability to curb public spending in December sent its currency, the real, to record lows against the dollar.

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Badenoch Slams UK’s Palestine Recognition Decision As ‘Absolutely Disastrous’

Published

29 minutes ago

September 21, 2025

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Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led United Kingdom’s decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine.

PUNCH Online reports that Britain, alongside Australia and Canada, on Sunday recognised a Palestinian state in a seismic shift in decades of Western foreign policy.

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday in New York.

However, the decision triggered swift Israeli anger and condemnation from the opposition.

Reacting in a statement on her X on Sunday, Badenoch described the move as “absolutely disastrous.”

She argued the move rewards terrorism with no conditions, and the decision would be widely regretted.

She said, “Absolutely disastrous. We will all rue the day this decision was made. Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas.

“It leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war.”

The Winchester opposition leader accused Labour of pandering to its “hard left” rather than fixing Britain’s pressing domestic problems.

“It is because Labour cannot fix the big problems in our society that they focus on discredited student union campaigns to appease the hard left.”

Listing examples of Labour’s failings, she said, “They cannot fix the NHS, so they push assisted suicide. – They cannot create jobs for young people, so they give them votes at 16.

“They cannot sort out immigration, but they will recognise Palestine instead. And so on. This is the same man who paid £35bn of reparations to Mauritius along with the surrender of the Chagos islands.”

Badenoch also criticised what she described as the prime minister’s lack of judgment.

“Everything we are seeing is a consequence of a Prime Minister who has no plan for the country and no judgment.

“He will spend the next four years delivering the hobbyhorses of the Labour left to stay in power and leave a HUGE mess for us to clean up.”

Earlier, Starmer announced the recognition of Palestine in a post on X, saying the move was intended to provide a two-state solution.

He said, “Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine.”

Headline

Trump To Lead Tributes At Kirk’s Memorial

Published

41 minutes ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump will lead tributes to Charlie Kirk on Sunday at a huge stadium gathering to honour the young right-wing influencer slain in America’s latest spasm of political violence.

As he left the White House to fly out west, Trump said the memorial service was aimed “to celebrate the life of a great man. Really a great man.”

He added, “It will be a very interesting day. A very tough day.”

Thousands of people lined up in the pre-dawn dark, hoping to get into the 63,000-seat American football stadium hosting the service and honour the young Republican star who was a close ally of the president and is credited with helping him get reelected.

Many wore the red, white and blue of the US flag or caps with Trump’s iconic “Make America Great Again” slogan.

“I look at him as a Christ martyr, definitely,” Monica Mireles, a 44-year-old Texan who drove 12 hours to get here, said of Kirk.

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck on September 10 while speaking at a Utah university as part of his popular public debate series.

Authorities arrested a suspect after a 33-hour manhunt, and prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty.

The killing of the founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing youth action campaign, has inflamed acrimonious and violent political divisions in the United States.

Authorities say the suspected 22-year-old gunman cited the “hatred” he believed was stoked by Kirk — who was a vitriolic critic of transgender people, Muslims and others.

Kirk used his millions of social media followers, the massive audience of his podcast and appearances at universities to bolster Trump with young voters and fight for a nationalist, Christian-centric political ideology.

Even before the alleged killer was identified or arrested, Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left.”

The US president has lauded Kirk’s role in helping him get re-elected in November last year.

Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will all speak at the memorial.

Also speaking will be Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and other prominent Trump administration officials.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, who is taking over the reins of Turning Point USA, will also address the audience at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale.

In response to the killing, the White House last week declared it would crack down on what it terms “domestic terrorism” by the political left.

Trump said he would designate “Antifa” — a shorthand term for “anti-fascist” used to describe diffuse far-left groups — as “a major terrorist organisation,” a move he threatened in his first term.

Prominent late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air on Wednesday, hours after the government threatened to cancel broadcasting licenses because of comments he made about Kirk’s killing.

The moves have sparked alarm among Trump’s critics, who warn of possible steps to silence dissent of his divisive right-wing White House tenure, marked by a rolling back of social justice policies and an immigration crackdown that has seen widespread complaints of rights abuses.

AFP

Headline

Trump Slams Harvard With New Restrictions On Funds

Published

7 hours ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

The Donald Trump administration on Friday imposed new restrictions on Harvard’s access to federal funds, escalating its ongoing confrontation with the prestigious U.S. university.

In a statement, the Department of Education said Harvard has been placed under “heightened cash monitoring (HCM) status” due to “growing concerns regarding the university’s financial position.”

The department pointed to the administration’s accusations of civil rights violations at the school, alongside Harvard’s recent decision to issue bonds and lay off employees, as factors creating uncertainty over its finances.

Under the new measures, Harvard must now use its own money to cover student financial aid packages promised by federal officials, before later seeking reimbursement from the government.

“Students will continue to have access to federal funding, but Harvard will be required to cover the initial disbursements as a guardrail to ensure Harvard is spending taxpayer funds responsibly,” the department wrote.

Federal officials also directed Harvard to “post an irrevocable letter of credit for $36 million” to “cover potential liabilities and ensure that Harvard meets its financial obligations to both students and the Department.”

The restrictions mark the latest step in the Trump administration’s wider campaign against U.S. universities. Officials have accused Harvard and other schools of advancing “woke” ideology and of failing to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

Harvard has rejected those claims, arguing that the federal government is attempting to exert control over hiring, admissions, and curriculum decisions.

Earlier this month, a Boston judge ordered the administration to unfreeze about $2.6 billion in federal funds, ruling that Trump’s Department of Education “used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”

Harvard officials did not respond to the latest move but announced Friday that the university had started recovering part of its frozen funds.

“We are pleased to see the disbursement of $46 million in research funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is an initial step, and we hope to continue to see funding restored across all of the federal agencies.”

(AFP)