Lula government hires a US law firm to try to reverse tariff
The Attorney General of the Union (AGU) is finalizing the hiring of a law firm to work in the United States. The goal is to reverse the sanctions imposed by the Government of Donald Trump: 50% rates on Brazilian products and punishments to authorities defined based on magnitsky law.
According to AGU information, the lawyers will act “administratively and judicially in defense of the Brazilian State”. Therefore, they will be able to defend national interests in US courts and also extrajudicially, with the Government and the Federal Administration.
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In this field, the idea is to counter the performance of Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has influenced the White House and congressmen to punish Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) authorities as a result of the conduct of the lawsuit against his father, Jair Bolsonaro, accused of planning a coup d’état.
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Lobby is regulated in Trump’s country and is to influence public decision makers to promote certain interests. AGU’s press office denies that lawyers have been hired to lobby.
The contract is in the finalization phase and, therefore, the AGU has provided no more details. The information is expected to be officially disclosed by the agency in the coming days.
The initiative received support from business representatives with which the Brazilian government has been exchanging information on impact and exits for Trump’s tariff. This path was seen as important as there is no productive dialogue between the two governments.
The week following Donald Trump’s letter to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announcing the tariff, AGU has lowered a decree with rules for hiring lawyers and experts “aiming at defending interest to the Federative Republic of Brazil in a foreign forum”.
The standard was published on July 15 in the Federal Official Gazette at the beginning of the crisis with the US. Aware that the friction would increase, AGU Minister Jorge Messias has rushed to edit the ordinance to facilitate the hiring of a law firm to work with the Trump government.
In addition to the imposition of tariff barriers, STF ministers and other authorities were prevented from entering the US. On the other hand, Alexandre de Moraes suffered financial sanctions based on magnitsky law.
According to the Ordinance of AGU, lawyers who work abroad must defend the interests of the Union, municipalities and federal public foundations, states, the Federal District or municipalities. This performance does not include “negotiations, negotiations, celebration of partnerships, search for investments or other acting that does not involve legal controversy in a foreign forum.”
The hiring of lawyers abroad is made by exemption from bidding, directed to professionals and companies of notorious specialization. To select the service providers, AGU has created the Lawyer or Specialist Selection Committee for the defense of the Republic abroad (Cadex), which conducts a market survey or analyze the previous performance of the lawyer or office.
The hiring process can be initiated by AGU itself or at the request of a public agency interested. The remuneration is defined on a case by case basis. If there are not enough resources for hiring the Budget of AGU, the public body or entity that requested the hiring may bear the amount.
Moraes has stated that he has no interest in appealing in the US of the sanctions imposed on him. If the minister changes his mind, he can count on the services of the lawyers hired by AGU.
