BRASILIA, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday that Brazil is not willing to be treated as lesser by others, in an indirect response to Washington amid rising tensions with the United States.

Addressing the second meeting this year of his ministerial cabinet, Lula rejected foreign impositions and stressed that no one in Brazil is above the law.

Stressing Brazil's sovereignty, Lula said: "Anyone who wants to enter these 8.5 million square kilometers, our airspace, our maritime space, our forests, must be accountable to our Constitution and our legislation."

The Brazilian president also made comments on U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of steep tariffs on Brazilian goods and threats against any attempts to regulate large U.S. technology companies.

The Brazilian government is willing to sit down at the negotiating table with the United States "on equal terms," Lula said. "What we are not willing to accept is to be treated as if we were subordinates."

On July 30, the Trump administration announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 50 percent on Brazilian exports and sanction Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice. Moraes is currently overseeing the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting to seize power following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.

Trump also called Brazil a "horrible trading partner" earlier this month, saying the trial against Bolsonaro was a "political execution." ■