Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday he would respond in kind if US President Donald Trump were to deploy tariffs against Brazil.

"It is very simple: if he taxes Brazilian products, there will be reciprocity," Lula told a press conference in Brasilia.

What else did Lula say?

Lula added that he would prefer to "improve [Brazil's] relationship with the United States."

He also called for Trump to "respect" Brazil.

"Trump was elected to run the US and I was elected to run Brazil. I will respect the US and want Trump to respect Brazil. That's all," Lula said.

"I have governed Brazil while the US had Republican and Democratic presidents, and our relationship has always been between two sovereign countries," Brazil's president stressed.

Lula also criticized Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, calling the move a "step back for human civilization."

Brazil is set to host the COP30 UN climate talks in November 2025 in the Amazonian city of Belem.

What did Trump say about potential tariffs?

Earlier this week, Trump named Brazil as one of the countries he believed was doing "harm" to the US economy.

"China is a tremendous tariff maker, and India, Brazil, so many countries," Trump said in a speech on Monday.

"So we're not going to let that happen any longer, because we're going to put America first."

Trump had earlier threatened to impose 100% tariffs on members of the BRICS group of countries, including Brazil.

The United States had a $253 million (€242.8 million) trade surplus with Brazil last year, according to the Brazilian government.

Brazil is Latin America's most populous country and largest economy. The US is its second-largest trading partner after China.

sdi/jcg (AFP, Reuters, Lusa)