Brasilia, July 10 -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday (local time) issued a firm response to US President Donald Trump's announcement of a 50 per cent tariff on Brazil by invoking the country's "Economic Reciprocity Law", while asserting Brazil's sovereignty and rejecting "any form of tutelage" in what he described as Trump's attempts to interfere in the country's internal judicial affairs.

Lula's response comes in the wake of Trump's letter on Wednesday (local time), where the US President announced the imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian imports starting August 1 and called for the cancellation of the trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of conspiring in a "coup d'etat...