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Lula says Trump's tariff letter ‘absurd’, threatens 50% duties on US goods

Brazilian President again pointed to the inaccuracy in the information about bilateral trade provided by Trump, who cited the trade deficit with Brazil as the reason for the move

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 10. /TASS/. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called American leader Donald Trump’s letter in which he announced plans to slap 50% duties on Brazilian goods "absurd," and promised to respond in kind.

"If he demands 50% from us, we will also insist on them paying 50%. We’re weighing several possible responses," he said in an interview with local TV channel TV Record.

Lula again pointed to the inaccuracy in the information about bilateral trade provided by Trump, who cited the trade deficit with Brazil as the reason for the move.

"He claims that the United States has a deficit with Brazil, but this is not true. In 2023, we exported $40 billion, while imports totaled $47 billion. We have a deficit of $7 billion. And if we calculate the entire amount over the past 15 years, Brazil's deficit with the United States is $410 billion," the president said.

"Did no one at the Treasury Department explain this to him before he wrote this absurd letter?"

CNN Brasil said earlier that Brasilia is seriously considering mirror measures. The Brazilian leader has already explained that Brazil will respond to the US tariffs on the basis of the national law on reciprocal measures. The law was adopted on April 11 and includes criteria for suspending commercial concessions, investments and obligations related to intellectual property rights.

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Exports of Russian goods to the EU amounted to 21.7 bln euro, while imports of goods from the EU into Russia totaled 22.2 bln euro

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Italian expert says Zelensky's new peace plan step in wrong direction

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EU goods imports into Russia exceed exports — Eurostat

Exports of Russian goods to the EU amounted to 21.7 bln euro, while imports of goods from the EU into Russia totaled 22.2 bln euro

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US to maintain naval blockade of Venezuela for at least two months — Reuters

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World Aquatics names Russia’s Maltsev as Male Artistic Swimmer of the year

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Chinese military stepping up its potential makes US more ‘vulnerable’ — Pentagon

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Russian troops liberate Zarechnoye in Zaporozhye Region over past day — top brass

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BRICS has developed criteria for admitting new members — ambassador to Moscow

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Putin-Trump call can be arranged quickly if needed — Kremlin

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Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that emergency services are working at the site of the crash

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The suspect is also dead

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Ruble becomes strongest-performing currency in 2025 — Bloomberg

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FSB thwarts hostage-taking, prisoner escape from penal colony in Kurgan Region

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About 70,000 Indians working in Russia — Russian ambassador to India

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Russia no enemy of Europe — State Duma speaker

Russia has helped Europe grow by supplying affordable energy, making its economy more competitive, Vyacheslav Volodin added

Gloomy mood in European Commission’s headquarters — Politico

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Ahmed Musa, head of the Iraqi ministry's press service, noted that Baghdad "has taken emergency measures to prevent a crisis at power plants until gas supplies resume"

Anglo-Saxon nations tap into Soviet-era tactics to 'decolonize' Russia anew — Medvedev

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Andrey Marochko said that significant success has been achieved in this area in a very short time

Ukrainian media outlet releases Kiev’s 20-point peace plan

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"It’s going to come down to, ultimately, the territory, and how that territory is divided up," Matthew Whitaker said

Europe's biggest nightmare is Ukraine deal on Russia's terms — senior diplomat

Sergey Ryabkov said that nobody can rewrite history

Belgium shocked by US sanctions against five EU citizens — foreign minister

Maxime Prevot said that EU digital legislation is not directed against the United States, but serves to ensure that EU citizens have the same security and dignity in the digital space that they enjoy in their public lives in Europe

Air defenses destroy 29 more Ukrainian UAVs over Russian regions within three-hour period

10 of them were destroyed over the Belgorod Region

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The drones were destroyed between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. GMT

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Dmitry Peskov refrained from giving further comments

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Vasily Nebenzya pointed out that US policy represents "an unambiguous signal to all countries in the region seeking to pursue a sovereign course and independently determine their economic, political, and cultural systems"

Ukraine lost 1-2 GW of power grid capacity as a result of December 23 explosions

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported earlier that Russian troops struck Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities and energy facilities with Kinzhal missiles on the morning of December 23

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US sanctions against former European officials cast doubt on EU sovereignty — Kallas

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Kalashnikov Concern dispatches AK-15K assault rifles in Multicam colors to customer

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Volume of household funds in Russian banks edges down by 0.04% in November — regulator

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Foreign intelligence services monitoring Oreshnik missile deployment in Belarus — KGB

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Zvezda Shipyard hand over seven ships to customers over five years

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KazTransOil, PERN ink agreement for oil transot to Germany

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Sergey Sobyanin emphasized that the tourist economy is growing year after year

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Gold production in Russia rises 5.6% in November — Rosstat

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