Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and US President Donald Trump have signaled that relations between the two countries are improving after months of economic and political tension.
On Tuesday, the two leaders had a 40-minute telephone conversation, which both sides described as “productive.”
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Reducing trade barriers and tackling organized crime were among the topics discussed. Both men agreed to speak again soon.
“I emphasized the urgency of strengthening cooperation with the United States to combat transnational organized crime,” Lula said in a social media post after the phone call.
“President Trump expressed his full willingness to work with Brazil and stressed his full support for joint efforts by both countries to confront these criminal organizations.”
Meanwhile, President Trump suggested that the talks between the two sides were based on talks that began on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City in September.
“President Lula and I established a relationship at our meeting at the United Nations, and I believe it set the stage for very good dialogue and agreement going forward,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
“I look forward to meeting and speaking with him in the near future. Many good things will come from this newly formed partnership.”
Tensions over Bolsonaro
Brazil and the United States have generally had strong ties, but those ties were thrown into turmoil after Trump returned to the White House for a second term as president earlier this year.
Trump, a Republican, had close ties with Brazil’s former right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, who left office in 2023.
But in February, Brazil’s attorney general accused Bolsonaro of trying to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election, which he lost to Lula.
His case was heard by a five-member panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court.
President Trump protested the case and in July threatened to raise tariffs on some Brazilian exports to 50% unless the case was dropped. These tariffs went into effect in August.
The United States also imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on Alexandre de Moraes, one of Brazil’s Supreme Court justices who played a key role in the Bolsonaro investigation.
Lula responded by accusing Trump of interfering with Brazil’s court system and likening the tariffs to “blackmail.”
Bolsonaro was subsequently sentenced to 27 years in prison and taken into custody last month.
Easing tension in a relationship?
The turning point came in September, when Lula and Trump shared a brief meeting at the United Nations General Assembly.
The two embraced, and both expressed surprise at the warmth of their encounter.
“I was walking in and the Brazilian leader was walking out,” President Trump said at the United Nations conference. “I looked at him, he looked at me, and we hugged.”
President Trump promised to reunite with Lula, adding that they have “great chemistry.” “He actually seemed like a very nice guy,” Trump said. “He liked me. I liked him. And I only do business with people I like.”
The two leaders then met again in Malaysia for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting.
Then, on November 20, President Trump announced that he would reverse increased tariffs on some Brazilian agricultural products, including coffee, cocoa, and beef.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Lula hailed the tariff cuts as “very positive” but stressed there was more work to be done.
“He emphasized that there are still items subject to tariffs that need to be discussed between the two countries,” Lula said. “Brazil wants to move quickly in these negotiations.”
Meanwhile, President Trump indicated that during his conversation with Lula, they discussed “sanctions that have been imposed on various Brazilian officials.”
The United States is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner after China, and the two countries exchanged approximately $127.6 billion in goods and services in 2024.
President Trump has criticized Brazil’s economic policies as being disadvantageous to the United States, but the South American country has a large trade deficit with the United States.
The United States exports nearly $91.5 billion to Brazil, while Brazil exports only $36.1 billion to the United States.
Cooperation on organized crime
Another pillar of high-level discussions on Tuesday was the prospect of further cooperation on organized crime.
President Trump has made fighting Latin American criminal networks a major part of his foreign policy agenda. Since returning to office, he has moved to designate a number of Latin American cartels and gangs as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
He also launched a series of airstrikes against boats and other vessels along the coastlines of the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, as well as South America.
President Trump has framed the bombing as a necessary bulwark against drug trafficking, but human rights experts have called the attack an extrajudicial killing that violates international law. At least 83 people were killed in the airstrike.
Lula himself faces pressure to address crime in Brazil ahead of his re-election in 2026.
For example, in November, it called on members of Brazil’s Congress to push for stronger legislation to combat criminal networks. His proposals included more support for the federal police and Brazil’s intelligence services.
“To fight organized crime, we need strong and secure laws,” Lula said in a social media post on Nov. 19.
Still, Brazil’s government is under intense scrutiny over a bloody police raid in Rio de Janeiro on October 28 that left 122 people dead.
Ms Lula called for an investigation into the incident aimed at combating the criminal organization known as Red Command.
But after Tuesday’s conversation, Lula reiterated that he is committed to “suffocating” his country’s criminal networks with U.S. support.
