Lula to Send Trump Amazon Data in Tariff Spat

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced on Saturday that he will send the latest Amazon deforestation figures to U.S. President Donald Trump in response to the imposition of new tariffs. The tariffs, which currently stand at a 25% duty on most Brazilian goods, were justified by the U.S. citing illegal deforestation in the Amazon as a key concern.

Lula, speaking in Taboão da Serra, São Paulo, highlighted that deforestation had dropped by 36.87% between August 2025 and July 2026, marking the lowest level since 2016 according to Brazil's space agency Inpe. The president's move aims to provide a factual basis to challenge the U.S. justification for the tariffs. The tariff dispute, which also includes concerns over digital trade, intellectual property, and ethanol, could significantly impact Brazilian exporters as a 25% surcharge is now imposed on a wide range of goods exported to the U.S. market, with some exceptions.

This move by Lula represents a diplomatic strategy to weaken the U.S. case for the tariffs through hard data, while the broader dispute highlights the complexities of trade tensions between the two nations.