By Luciana Magalhaes

SAO PAULO, July 26 (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called new U.S. tariffs unfair and a ‌strategic mistake in a Sunday opinion column for The Washington ‌Post, warning they would harm the countries’ bilateral partnership and drive up costs for U.S. ​consumers.

“This month, disregarding dozens of meetings between our teams, solid technical arguments, and documents I personally handed to President Trump, the U.S. government imposed new tariffs on Brazil ranging from 12.5 percent to 37.5 percent,” Lula wrote.

The new ‌duties follow the U.S. Supreme ⁠Court striking down last year’s 50% tariffs, Lula noted, adding that food, footwear, textiles, furniture, auto parts, and many ⁠other products will become more expensive for U.S. consumers.

The U.S. Embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the column.

Lula ​also cited ​Global Trade Alert, an independent organization ​based in Switzerland, as saying ‌that Brazil and Turkey are now the second most heavily tariffed countries by the United States, behind only China.

This is despite a U.S. trade surplus with Brazil in goods and services that totaled $428 billion over 15 consecutive years, Lula said.

In the opinion piece, published the day after Trump ally ‌and conservative presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro launched ​his campaign, Lula noted that Brazilian exports ​to the U.S. have hit ​their lowest level since 1997.

“In the medium term, these ‌tariffs will disrupt supply chains that are ​currently deeply integrated, ​and Brazilian companies will replace their U.S. suppliers with partners elsewhere,” Lula said.

Brazil is open to a constructive dialogue with the U.S., ​Lula said, but the ‌country must decide its own future.

“Brazil’s destiny is for Brazilians alone ​to determine — without foreign interference or subservience,” he said.

(Reporting by ​Luciana Magalhaes; Editing by Alexander Smith)