Brazil’s 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
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he had a positive meeting on Sunday with his U.S. counterpart President Donald Trump and their respective teams would start “immediately” to discuss tariffs and other matters.
Trump and Lula spoke on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in a meeting to overcome tensions between Brazil and the U.S. after Trump increased tariffs on U.S. imports of most Brazilian goods to 50% from 10% in early August.
“We agreed that our teams will meet immediately to advance the search for solutions to the tariffs and sanctions against Brazilian authorities,” Lula said in a message on X following the meeting.
Trump had 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 put sanctions on a number of Brazilian officials, including Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the trial that led to Bolsonaro’s conviction for attempting a coup.
Ahead of the meeting on Sunday though, Trump said he could reach some agreements with Lula.
“I think we should be able to make some pretty good deals for both countries,” Trump said.
Lula previously described the tariff hike as a “mistake,” citing a $410 billion U.S. trade surplus with Brazil over 15 years.
Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said negotiations will start immediately to work on solutions and a meeting with the U.S. delegation was planned for Sunday.
“We will establish a negotiation schedule and establish the sectors we will talk about so that we can move forward,” Vieira told journalists at the summit, adding that Brazil had requested tariffs be suspended during the negotiation process.
It was not immediately clear if the request was agreed to by the United States.
“We hope to conclude bilateral negotiations that address each of the sectors of the current American (tariffs on) Brazil in the near future, in a few weeks,” Vieira added.
Bolsonaro was not mentioned in the meeting, said Marcio Rosa, the executive secretary for Brazil’s foreign ministry, who stood next to Vieira.
Higher U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods have begun reshaping the global beef trade, pushing up prices in the United States and encouraging triangulation via third countries such as Mexico, while Brazilian exports to China continue to boom.
