Top trade negotiators from the US and Brazil are set to meet Monday after President Donald Trump predicted the nations could “pretty quickly” strike a trade deal as he met with counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Trump said the pair “get along very well” and indicated a willingness to claw back the punishing tariffs he had imposed on Brazil in recent months in a spat over the prosecution of his right-wing ally, Jair Bolsonaro.
“We should be able to make some pretty good deals for both countries,” Trump said as the leaders met in Malaysia, which is hosting a regional summit.
More formal negotiations had been expected to kick off just hours after the presidents met, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio aiming to meet Sunday night with Brazil Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira and the deputy minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Marcio Rosa.
Later on Sunday, Brazilian negotiators and Greer talked on the phone and set an in-person meeting for Monday morning, according to Lula’s administration.
“The meeting was very positive, and the overall result is highly satisfactory,” Vieira said in a press conference after the presidential conversation.
The tone was a marked shift from recent months, where Trump and Lula have traded missives in public statements.
“There’s no reason for having any kind of conflict” between Brazil and the US, Lula said in the meeting, adding that he was hopeful he soon could announce “good news.”
Vieira said that in addition to renewing Brazil’s request regarding the tariffs, Lula also asked for sanctions on Brazilian officials to be lifted. The Brazilian foreign minister said he expects the negotiations to be concluded “within a few weeks.”
Lula offered to serve as an interlocutor in relations with Venezuela. The US has struck down multiple boats it says were carrying drugs from Venezuela in recent months, prompting speculation that it may be preparing to attack the country on land. Though Brazil has avoided any direct involvement, Lula had previously told Trump in a phone call that a military conflict in South America would be devastating for the region.
‘None of Your Business’
The meeting was the first official sit-down between Trump and Lula, as the Brazilian president is known. It was also the first extended interaction between them since relations sharply deteriorated following Trump’s July announcement to slap punitive tariffs on imports from Latin America’s largest economy. The US president unsuccessfully sought to stop the Supreme Court trial of Bolsonaro, and hiked levies on key Brazilian exports like coffee and meat.
But the relationship thawed after the pair briefly crossed paths at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, with a positive chat paving the way for a resumption of high-level talks after a period of frozen relations.
Trump told reporters on Sunday he felt “very badly” about Bolsonaro’s fate but told reporters it was “none of your business” when asked if the issue would be part of the talks.
The Brazilian government viewed Sunday’s conversation between Lula and Trump as an important step forward and saw the sense of urgency in arranging the meeting as a positive sign, according to an aide to the president who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the portion of the meeting that took place behind closed doors. Both presidents agreed on reciprocal visits.
Talking Points
In addition to tariffs and sanctions, Brazil’s main focus has been on clearing the air on trade practices that have been the target of an investigation by the Office of the US Trade Representative, including the regulation of US-based social media companies operating in the country and ethanol industry policies.
While Brazil’s approach has been to wait for the Trump administration to outline its demands before putting its own proposals on the table, Brasilia has been working to prepare background materials on an array of themes that could be relevant to the talks, including social media regulation, data centers and critical minerals. Those topics didn’t appear in the meeting according to Brazil’s government.
Brazil has the second-largest reserve of rare earths in the world after China, potentially giving the South American country a unique card to play. Lula has indicated a willingness to discuss opportunities to boost the development of the key minerals used in electric vehicles, advanced weapons systems and medical devices with various parties, including Trump.
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