“Excellent” Meeting USA Brazil
Kuala Lumpur, Oct 26 (EFE).—
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Sunday that his meeting in Kuala Lumpur with US President Donald Trump was “excellent” and confirmed that both countries will “immediately” begin trade negotiations amid tensions over Washington’s 50 percent tariff on Brazilian exports.
“I had an excellent meeting with President Trump this Sunday afternoon in Malaysia. We addressed the bilateral trade and economic agenda frankly and constructively. We agreed that our teams will meet immediately to seek solutions to the tariffs and sanctions against Brazilian authorities,” Lula wrote on X.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and allied countries at Kuala Lumpur’s convention center.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira described the 45-minute discussion as “very positive” and “very productive,” adding that “the presidents addressed all issues.”
According to Vieira, Trump committed to “instruct his team to start a bilateral negotiation process.”
Relations between Brazil and the United States have been strained since Washington imposed a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian goods in retaliation for the legal case against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a political ally of Trump.
Trump, who began his first Asian tour of his second term in Malaysia, said at the start of the meeting that he expected “very good agreements” with Brazil, though he offered no further details afterward.
Lula, who has been in Kuala Lumpur for a few days, met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Saturday after a trip to Indonesia, seeking trade agreements to ease the impact of US tariffs.
Trump and Lula met in the corridors of the UN General Assembly, held in September in New York, and initiated a thaw that continued on Oct. 6 with a “friendly” call, in which the Brazilian leader proposed meeting with the American at the ASEAN summit, which kicked off on Sunday and concludes on Tuesday.
The US president will head to Japan on Monday, before traveling to South Korea. EFE
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