SAO PAULO, July 28, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Brazil filed a request on Monday seeking a World Trade Organization (WTO) consultation over tariffs imposed on several products by the United States, the foreign ministry said.

President Donald Trump's government has imposed two rounds of tariffs on Brazil this month, which left-wing president and candidate for re-election Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has denounced as election interference.

"Brazil submitted, on July 27, a request for consultations with the United States within the framework of the WTO dispute settlement system," the ministry said in a statement, noting Brazil considers the US measures "unjustified and incompatible" with international trade rules.

This month, the United States put in place new tariffs on several Brazilian products, charging 25 percent for alleged unfair trade practices and 12.5 percent for alleged use of forced labor.

A request for consultation with another country is a preliminary step in opening a panel on the case in the WTO framework.

Brazil took the same step in 2025, when Washington imposed 50 percent tariffs in retaliation for the coup-related trial that sent former president Jair Bolsonaro to prison.

Now Bolsonaro's son, right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, is running against Lula in the October election.

That first round of tariffs was largely reversed later on.

Lula has accused Flavio Bolsonaro, a staunch ally of Trump, of encouraging US tariff pressure to gain an advantage at the ballot box -- which Bolsonaro denies.

Brazil denied visas for two US officials who sought to meet with Brazilian election authorities ahead of the tense presidential vote, a diplomatic source told AFP on Saturday.