Brazil formally requested consultations at the World Trade Organization on 6 August after Washington raised duties on a wide array of Brazilian goods to 50%. Brasília argues the measure violates the most-favoured-nation principle and exceeds tariff ceilings the United States accepted at the WTO. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Brazil will deploy “all available measures” to defend its interests but will not impose retaliatory tariffs. His economic team is drafting assistance for companies hit by the surcharge, and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad intends to discuss the dispute next week with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Lula told Reuters he sees no point in phoning President Donald Trump, calling such outreach a potential “humiliation”. Instead, he plans to consult fellow BRICS leaders—beginning with India’s Narendra Modi and China’s Xi Jinping—on a collective response. The Brazilian leader portrayed the move as a defence of multilateral trade rules against what he described as U.S. unilateralism.