Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a press conference at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, January 30, 2025. Reuters/Adriano Machado
Adriano Machado | Reuters
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held positive talks with US President Donald Trump on Sunday, saying their respective teams would begin talks “immediately” on tariffs and other issues.
Trump and Lula met on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, aimed at overcoming tensions between Brazil and the United States after Trump raised tariffs on most Brazilian imports from the United States from 10% to 50% in early August.
“We have agreed that our teams will meet immediately to proceed with finding a solution to the tariffs and sanctions against the Brazilian authorities,” Lula said in a message to X after the meeting.
President Trump linked the tariff move to what he called a “witch hunt” against the South American country’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro. The U.S. government also sanctioned a number of Brazilian officials, including Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the trial that convicted Bolsonaro of attempting a coup.
But ahead of Sunday’s meeting, President Trump said some agreements could be reached with Lula.
“We should be able to get a pretty good deal for both countries,” Trump said.
Lula previously said the tariff hike was a “mistake”, citing the US’ trade surplus with Brazil, which has reached $410 billion over 15 years.
Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said negotiations toward a solution would begin immediately and a meeting with the U.S. delegation was scheduled for Sunday.
“We will set a schedule for negotiations and establish areas for discussion so that we can move forward,” Vieira told reporters at the summit, adding that Brazil had requested a suspension of tariffs during the negotiation process.
It was not immediately clear whether the request was agreed to by the United States.
“We hope to conclude bilateral negotiations in the near future, within the next few weeks, that will address each area of the current U.S. tariffs on Brazil,” Vieira added.
Márcio Rosa, director general of Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, who was sitting next to Vieira, said Bolsonaro’s name was not mentioned during the meeting.
Increased U.S. tariffs on Brazilian products are beginning to restructure the global beef trade, increasing prices in the U.S. and encouraging triangular trade through third countries such as Mexico, while exports from Brazil to China remain strong.
