Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva thanked China for clearing the country’s beef of foot-and-mouth disease and fired a barb at US President Donald Trump, saying “I will sell to someone else”, after Washington announced new tariffs on Brazilian goods.
Lula made the remarks on Tuesday, hours after Beijing announced wider access for Brazilian beef to the world’s biggest market for the product.
“As God writes straight with crooked lines, nothing comes free for a Christian man like me. What happened to counter Trump’s measure? China accepted that Brazil is nationally free of foot-and-mouth disease,” Lula said.
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“I’m not going to cry [because of US’ decision]. If you do not want to buy from me, you can keep your things and I will sell to someone else,” he said, in a reference to Washington.
The episode offered a fresh example of the contest between China and the United States for influence in Latin America, with Brazil weighing deeper trade ties with Beijing against mounting pressure from the Trump administration.
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China’s General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced the decision on Tuesday during a visit to Beijing by Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.