Haddad asks the Bolsonaro family to get out of the way and let the government negotiate with the US

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Thursday (24) that the Bolsonaro family needs to "get out of the way" so that the Lula administration (PT) can negotiate with the United States the 50% tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump. Haddad highlighted that the actions of former President Jair Bolsonaro's (PL) allies are "obstructing" the reopening of official channels with the Trump administration.

"Those who are obstructing this channel are the Bolsonaro family and their supporters. It's not just the Bolsonaro family, so I appeal to people who have an appreciation for the Bolsonaro family [...] You lost the election, get out of the way and let the government negotiate, get out of the way so that the [negotiation] table can be reestablished," said the minister in an interview with Itatiaia radio .

On July 9, Trump announced the tariff hike , citing alleged trade losses in the trade relationship with Brazil. However, the United States' trade surplus with Brazil reached US$1.7 billion in the first half of 2025, according to Amcham Brasil. This represents an increase of approximately 500% compared to the same period in 2024.

In addition to presenting commercial reasons, the US president also criticized Bolsonaro's trial by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) for an alleged coup attempt. Amid the impasse, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) made any negotiations conditional on the approval of a "broad, general, and unrestricted" amnesty for those involved in the January 8, 2023, attacks.

Haddad also criticized governors who are trying to take the lead in discussions with the Trump administration. Although he didn't name him, the minister referred to São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), who met with the Chargé d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, Gabriel Escobar, on the same day that Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) met with business leaders to seek a solution to the tariff hike.

"Several governors in Brazil have ties to the far right; they celebrated Trump's election and donned Trump's hat. That's fine, everyone does what they want. This is a democracy. But these people should mobilize alongside Bolsonaro, so that Paulo Figueiredo and Eduardo Bolsonaro stop campaigning against Brazil and the negotiations," Haddad said.

"I believe that if the governors seek dialogue and persuade these figures to unblock the negotiations, this will all be over very quickly. President Lula is a master negotiator. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vice President Alckmin are absolutely sensible people," he added.

Earlier, the minister stated that the contingency plan to help Brazilian companies affected by the tariff hike will be presented to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) next week. The measure, however, will also be discussed with other ministries involved, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The tariff hike is scheduled to begin on August 1st.