Tariff imposed by Trump is irresponsible, says Luiz Marinho

The Minister of Labor and Employment, Luiz Marinhohe stated this Wednesday (12.Aug.2026), in an interview with Poder360 that the tariff tax by the President of the USA, Donald Trump (Republican Party), was “irresponsible”.

Asked if he believes that the Brazilian government will seek negotiation with the USA on the issue, Marinho stated that he is “difficult to predict anything” when there is a “an interlocutor who doesn’t know if what he said today is valid tomorrow”. The minister declared that “you can’t fully trust what Trump says”.

Watch (1h):

“What we are doing, masterfully, is opening new markets for Brazilian products. This is decisive for the moment the economy is going through. It is not simply insisting on dialoguing with the North Americans, but it is necessary to maintain the logic of continuing to open new markets”said Luiz Marinho to Poder360.

“If the North Americans don’t want it, there are those who want our products. If the North Americans don’t want a good relationship with Brazil, there are those who do”declared the minister.

Luiz Marinho said he does not believe that jobs will be affected in Brazil because of US tariffs because there have been substitutions.

“When this number of new markets opens, it is an extraordinary success and this has helped to replace”said Marinho.

Read other highlights from the interview:

• vote at the end of 6 x 1 – “It’s not just the government that wants it. The government reacts to society’s desire. Society snatched this result from the Chamber. We ask President Davi Alcolumbre to submit it to the senators for approval. For them to commit to Brazilian society, not to the Lula government”;
• embezzlement in the ministry – “We have a lack of human resources, we have a lack of budget”;
• dispute in São Paulo – “Elections are won and lost when you compete. Haddad has every chance of winning. The polls are a snapshot of the moment […] The Tarcísio government is weak, without delivery, it is the government of propaganda, of protecting the São Paulo elite. This could all fall apart”.