Key Points

Speaking at an event in Sao Paulo, Lula on Tuesday condemned what he called Washington's unilateral approach to international trade, Xinhua news agency reported.

"All of a sudden, one man thinks he can dictate the rules for everything that happens in the world," Lula said. "No one grabs hold of a fully loaded transatlantic ship and tries to steer it like this. It won't work."

Lula added that Trump's decision to impose "reciprocal tariffs" on other countries and regions ignores the reality of a multipolar world.

"There are nearly 200 countries," he said. "All of them want sovereignty and a harmonious process. Today, the most important thing is multilateralism."

The Brazilian leader also recalled the free trade rhetoric of the 1980s, when then US President Ronald Reagan and UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher publicly opposed protectionism. Lula contrasted those earlier stances with what he viewed as the current protectionist turn of the United States.

The United States has been Brazil's second-largest trading partner since 2009, behind China.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration raised import tariffs on Brazilian goods, including a 10 per cent tariff on a broad range of products, following earlier hikes on steel and aluminum.

- IANS