| President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva speaking with The New York Times on Tuesday. Victor Moriyama for The New York Times |
Trump hit Brazil with 50 percent tariffs
The U.S. imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil yesterday, the highest levy President Trump has applied to another country in his current term.
The U.S. also sanctioned a Brazilian Supreme Court justice overseeing the criminal case against former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally who is accused of orchestrating a coup attempt after losing the 2022 elections.
The moves sharply escalated the crisis between the Trump administration and Brazil, Latin America’s largest nation, and were a clear rebuke of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has publicly defied Trump for weeks.
Trump had threatened to impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazil beginning Friday if the country did not drop the charges against Bolsonaro. But he acted earlier, signing an executive order on the new tariffs yesterday.
In an interview with The New York Times before the new tariffs were announced, Lula expressed outrage, accusing Trump of trying to push Brazil around and ignoring its offers to negotiate.
“We are treating this with the utmost seriousness,” Lula said. “But seriousness does not require subservience.” Read highlights from the interview, and watch my colleague Jack Nicas explain Lula’s difficult position in the video excerpted above.
India faces a U.S. tariff threat
Trump announced yesterday that Indian imports to the U.S. would face a 25 percent tariff beginning Friday, the deadline he has set for countries to reach a trade deal with the U.S.
He also berated India for high trade barriers and for purchasing energy and military equipment from Russia. The announcement could put pressure on India to strike a deal. A 25 percent tariff would be just one percentage point lower than the rate Trump threatened India with in April. It’s also significantly higher than the tariff rates that he has settled on with other Asian nations like Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan — which have all been 20 percent or less.
India is currently the 12th-largest trading partner of the U.S. After high hopes for a trade deal, negotiations appear to have hit obstacles in recent weeks. India’s commerce ministry said in a statement that it remained committed to reaching a fair bilateral trade agreement.
Canada said it would recognize a Palestinian state
Canada joined Britain and France in their pledge to recognize Palestinian statehood at the U.N. General Assembly in September. Like Britain, Canada would place certain conditions on that recognition, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.
The Palestinian Authority would have to exclude Hamas from any government, return hostages to Israel and hold elections next year, the first since 2006. Carney said he had discussed such changes in a call with the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. Here’s what Palestinian statehood would mean.
Related: Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, was set to travel to Israel amid mounting international anger over the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
| This handout photo shows flooding in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula yesterday. Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences, via Reuters |
| Tsunami: A magnitude 8.8 earthquake, one of the largest on record, struck near Russia, causing coastal surges across the Pacific Ocean but relatively little damage. Here’s why. Travel: Departing flights out of two of London’s largest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, were briefly grounded yesterday because of a radar problem. Trade: Trump announced a trade deal with South Korea that includes 15 percent tariffs on its goods, lower than the 25 percent he had threatened. Africa: Eight people were reported dead after Ugandan soldiers attacked troops in South Sudan long considered to be allies. Canada: Health authorities have recorded more than 4,200 cases of measles this year, far more than most Western nations. Taiwan: The Trump administration, focused on delicate talks with China, told President Lai Ching-te to cancel a planned stop in New York. Space: NASA’s new radar mission launched from India. Here’s what it will do. Celebrities: The U.S. and Canada are buzzing after Katy Perry met Justin Trudeau for dinner in Montreal. |
Business
| Autos: Facing Trump’s tariffs and slowing demand in China, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche slashed their earnings forecasts. Takeout: Meituan, the Chinese food delivery giant, said expanding to Hong Kong was the first step in a global growth plan. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Soccer: Here’s what it’s really like filming the hit TV show “Welcome to Wrexham.” Cycling: The Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar won’t race in the upcoming Vuelta a España. Golf: Scottie Scheffler illustrates what may seem like a paradoxical problem — how to cope with winning. |
| MORNING READ |
On a recent afternoon in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, a 17th-century statue of Apollo became chatty. It answered questions about its past and praised the garden’s caretakers for quickly dealing with any errant bird droppings.
The statue “spoke” through an app, powered by artificial intelligence, that lets visitors converse with 20 outdoor statues in three languages. The new tool is part of an effort by the palace to lure younger and more homegrown audiences.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
| Heavy metal send-off: Ozzy Osbourne’s coffin rolled through Birmingham, his English hometown, in a funeral procession fit for royalty. Carbon paw print: Here are ways to make your pet more environmentally friendly. Jet lag: Our travel writer tried two apps to help manage her exhaustion on a trip to Asia. Billionaire beachfront: Who’s buying up, and bulldozing, oceanside mansions in Palm Beach, Fla.? |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
A look at the future of Mexican music
My colleague Jon Caramanica has some thoughts about one of the biggest Spanish-language records of the year, “Me Jalo,” by the groups Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera.
Mexican music traditionally comes in different regional styles, like Norteño, Tejano and Duranguense. “Me Jalo” successfully blends the styles of the two musical groups, creating a tension enhanced by old-fashioned instrumentation, like accordion and sousaphone, in a song about a modern subject. Watch Jon explain what may be the future of Mexican music.
