Brazilians Rally Behind Lula Against Trump’s 50% Tariffs, Most Clamor For Retaliatory Levies: Survey

President Donald Trump’s 50% tariff threat issued against Brazil as part of his recent string of letters sent to key trading partners has not gone down well with the people of the South American nation.

Citing a survey conducted by AtlasIntel on behalf of Bloomberg, the media outlet said that 50.3% of the survey respondents called Trump’s Brazilian levies, which the U.S. President linked to former President Jair Bolsonaro's election interference trial, an attack on Brazil. 

Amid the tariff uncertainties, the  SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund tracking the broader S&P 500 Index, has gained 7.25% year-to-date, while the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) has climbed about 24%.

Trump’s tariff threats announced on July 9 elicited a strong reaction from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula retorted by flagging reciprocal levies if the U.S. tariffs go into effect by the Aug. 1 deadline Trump has set.

Reacting to their president’s response, about 44.8% said it was appropriate and 25.2% called it weak, while 27.5% viewed it as aggressive. 

Delving into the course of action, most Brazilians (51.2%) called for retaliatory tariffs, and about 26.8% called for Brazil to deepen its ties with India and China in a bid to take on the U.S.

The tariff developments served to reduce Brazilians’ opposition to Lula, with his disapproval rating falling to 50.3% from 51.8% in June. At the same time, the president’s approval rating improved to 49.7% from 47.3%.

About 48% of the respondents were confident that Lula could clinch a deal with the U.S. by the deadline. 

A majority of respondents (62.2%) see Trump’s tariff move against Brazil as politically motivated. Among the reasons mentioned by the respondents were Brazil’s participation in the BRICS alliance (40.9%) and the Bolsonaro family’s influence in the U.S. (36.9%). 

Nearly half of the respondents of the survey carried out online between Friday and Sunday said that if the Trump tariff goes into effect, it would impact the domestic economy, pushing up inflation.

In Tuesday’s early premarket session, the SPY ETF and the EWZ ETF rose 0.33% and 0.51%, respectively.

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