Brasilia [Brazil], July 7 (ANI): Flavio Bolsonaro, a Brazilian presidential hopeful and the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has urged the administration of US President Donald Trump to postpone proposed tariffs on Brazilian goods until after Brazil’s October election, as he seeks to counter accusations by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that his family was responsible for prompting the move, Al Jazeera reported.The Trump administration proposed 25 per cent tariffs on Brazilian products in June, citing alleged trade violations, including illegal deforestation and what it described as unfair electronic payment practices. The proposal came as a surprise to Brazil’s government, with Lula saying ties with Washington had been improving following a White House meeting with Trump in May.The tariff proposal was announced shortly after Flavio Bolsonaro met senior US officials in Washington, leading Lula to accuse the right-wing senator of encouraging the US to exert pressure on Brazil by lobbying for the tariffs, as reported by Al Jazeera.Lula later intensified those accusations, writing on social media that “the origin of all this was motivated by the Bolsonaro family itself” and describing Bolsonaro’s appeal to delay the tariffs until after the election as “yet another act of treason against the Fatherland”.Bolsonaro has rejected the allegations, arguing instead that the imposition of tariffs would politically benefit Lula’s government.”New US tariffs on Brazilian products would hand the current Brazilian government precisely the political victory it has been engineering,” Bolsonaro wrote in a submission to the Office of the US Trade Representative, as reported by Al Jazeera.Brazilian officials have spent months attempting to persuade Washington not to proceed with the tariffs. However, Bolsonaro argued that the government had failed to make sufficient efforts to reach common ground with the United States and called for an 180-day delay before any final decision.”Brazil holds general elections in October 2026, and the political landscape that determines the viability of any negotiated resolution will be redefined within roughly ninety days,” he wrote, Al Jazeera reported.There has been little indication that his appeal has succeeded. In a response to Bolsonaro’s letter last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US officials continued to have “substantial differences” with Brazil over the issues cited to justify the proposed tariffs.According to Al Jazeera, the dispute has divided public opinion in Brazil. A Quaest poll published last month found that 47 per cent of respondents agreed with Lula’s claim that Bolsonaro had encouraged the United States to impose tariffs, while 35 per cent believed Bolsonaro’s assertion that he had tried to prevent them.Washington has until July 15 to decide whether to implement the tariffs. If approved, they would exempt beef, coffee, rare earth minerals and aircraft parts, while adding to tariffs imposed by Trump last year over what he described as a “witch hunt” against Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted months later.Bolsonaro has made Brazil’s relationship with the US a central issue in his election campaign as Trump has expanded US engagement in Latin American politics, including backing right-wing candidates across the region, Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)