Brazilian President Lula sees 'definitive solution' with US coming in days

By Daniel Carvalho and Augusta Saraiva 

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he had a “surprisingly good” meeting with US President Donald Trump, and predicted a “definitive solution” over bilateral disputes within days. 

“The destiny was sealed — soon there will be no problem between the US and Brazil,” Lula, as the Brazilian president is known, told reporters Monday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he was attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting.

 

Lula spoke a day after he and Trump held a meeting on the sidelines of the summit, and hours after negotiators from Brazil and the US held a follow-up meeting to chart a path forward on trade. Further talks will take place in Washington next week, Lula said, with an expected resolution within “days.”

 

Trump also expressed optimism about a deal, saying during the Sunday meeting that the nations could “pretty quickly” strike a deal.

 

High-level talks between the two countries restarted after the two presidents briefly crossed paths in New York in September. Lula had since asked Trump to lift duties, as well as remove sanctions on Brazilian officials.

 

Brazil has faced 50 per cent import duties on key exports for months as part of Trump’s efforts to stop the Supreme Court trial of his ally Jair Bolsonaro, which shook relations between the US and South America’s biggest economy. 

 

Lula said he told Trump that Bolsonaro was the past of Brazilian politics and that the US president was surprised to learn that the sanctions he had imposed on Brazilian court officials had a sweeping impact, including restrictions on one judge’s 8-year-old daughter. Lula told reporters that the sanctions taken against Brazil over complaints about Brazilian judicial authorities were “unacceptable.” 

 

He added that the tariffs Washington imposed were based on “wrong information.” 

 

Trade deficit 

Trump didn’t indicate what he wanted from Brazil in an ultimate trade deal, Lula said. Unlike many of Trump’s tariff targets, Brazil typically runs an annual trade deficit with the US, a point Lula stressed during their meeting.

 

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.  

 

Brazil also 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.

 

The two leaders did discuss Trump’s controversial new policy of using military strikes against boats his administration says are smuggling drugs from Venezuela. The Brazilian president said he indicated a willingness to help with the issue, and told Trump to take into consideration his country’s “expertise,” while acknowledging the conversation didn’t delve deep into details.

 

“If Brazil’s help is needed, we are at your disposal,” Lula said.

 

Lula also told reporters he invited the US president to come to Brazil for the upcoming COP30 climate talks.