Lula’s pre-campaign prepared responses to suspend, postpone or confirm the surcharge and target Bolsonaros’ actions in the USA
O PT defined on Tuesday night (14.Jul.2026) the communication strategy to react to the government’s decision Donald Trump (Republican Party) about the 25% tariff against Brazilian products. With the confirmation of the surcharge this Wednesday (Jul 15), the president’s pre-campaign Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will invest even more in “TariFlávio”associating the episode with the senator Flavio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).
The material was prepared in advance because the party and Planalto considered maintaining the tariff practically certain. Although the decision has not yet been made official by the United States, the Lula government is already working with the expectation that the rate will be confirmed and is just awaiting the publication of the White House act.
There were pieces ready for 3 scenarios: suspension of the measure, considered “impossible”; postponement, as “unlikely”; and application of the surcharge, treated as the most likely outcome.
With the surcharge, the strategy is maintain that the investigation, which led to the tariffs, was driven by the Bolsonaro family’s coordination with Trump’s allies in the United States.
The strategy also rescues the history of the episode. In 2025, Eduardo Bolsonaro supported the first tariff announced by Trump by arguing that economic pressure could favor the amnesty of the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL). At the time, the position was criticized even by allies on the right, including Tarcísio de Freitas and Flávio Bolsonaro himself.
Now, the president’s pre-campaign intends to explore Flávio’s trip to the United States. The senator participated in a public hearing promoted by the USTR (Office of the US Trade Representative), in which he asked Washington to postpone the application of the 25% tariff until after the Brazilian elections and defended negotiation with his eventual government.
The pre-campaign will explore the thesis that the senator was betting on Lula’s political exhaustion with the entry into force of the tariffs. The assessment is that the trip reinforces the narrative that Flávio tried to present himself as the only interlocutor capable of resolving the tariff impasse.
On June 2, with the preliminary conclusion of the commercial investigation, Planalto even called the Bolsonaro family “false patriots” for acting, according to the government, against Brazilian interests. Read the complete (PDF-164 kB).
The government chose not to send political representatives to the United States to monitor the USTR’s decision. For Planalto, direct participation could give legitimacy to a process considered to have no legal basis and politically motivated.
Privately, Lula’s aides also claim that the White House is interested in leaving a broad negotiation on tariffs until after the presidential election. The reading is that Washington considers it more favorable to discuss the issue with a possible government aligned with North American interests than with the current administration.
The investigation was opened by the United States in July 2025 based on Section 301 to investigate alleged Brazilian practices considered harmful to North American interests. In addition to tariff issues, the process involves topics such as Pix, digital commerce, intellectual property, ethanol, combating corruption and deforestation. The Brazilian government disputes all allegations.
Source: https://www.poder360.com.br/poder-eleicoes-2026/tarifaco-vira-municao-do-pt-para-desgastar-flavio-com-tariflavio/
