According to reports from the Brazilian website "G1" and the newspaper "O Estado de S. Paulo," on July 30, after US President Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods imported to the US and imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, Brazilian President Lula reiterated the importance of national sovereignty on the 31st. Later that day, Lula also hosted a dinner reception for the justices, expressing support for de Moraes and the Supreme Federal Court.

Lula posted a statement on social media titled "Without Sovereignty, Brazil Will Cease to Exist," along with the content of Article 1 of the Brazilian Constitution, which explicitly lists "sovereignty" as the cornerstone of Brazil as a nation.

In the statement, Lula emphasized that sovereignty brings freedom and independence to Brazil, stating that sovereignty is the right of a country to control its own destiny. He pointed out that sovereignty enables a country to determine its own development direction, protect its resources, defend its territory, and safeguard its interests.

Although Lula did not specifically mention relations with the United States in the statement, he highlighted the importance of international cooperation and stated that Brazil is committed to strengthening multilateralism. He said, "Sovereignty and international cooperation are not contradictory. The world today faces challenges that no country can solve alone, such as hunger and climate change. Common challenges require collective action."

On the evening of July 31, Lula also invited several senior figures from Brazil's judiciary and law enforcement system to dinner at the Alvorada Palace, the presidential residence. Apart from Justice de Moraes, who was sanctioned by the US government, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Luís Roberto Barroso, Justice Flávio Dino, Minister of Justice Ricardo Lewandowski, Federal Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet, and others attended this informal meeting.

Although Lula did not disclose specific plans, there are reports suggesting that some justices may publicly retaliate against the Trump administration's sanctions on de Moraes, the Supreme Court, and the handling of the 2022 coup plot case.

On July 30, the Trump administration imposed economic sanctions on de Moraes under the Magnitsky Act, which focuses on severe human rights violations. The US Treasury Department has confirmed de Moraes' inclusion on the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctions list, meaning that his assets in the US will be frozen, and US financial institutions will be prohibited from conducting financial transactions with him in US dollars.