On Thursday, October 16, senior officials from the United States and Brazil held a trade meeting at the White House, stating that the negotiations have made positive progress and that the leaders of both countries will soon hold a summit.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira jointly conducted the meeting, marking the latest face-to-face diplomatic interaction between the US and Brazil after months of tense relations.
The US State Department issued a joint statement on the high-level US-Brazil talks on Thursday.
The statement said, “US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Trade Representative Greer met with Brazilian Foreign Minister Vieira for productive discussions on trade and bilateral affairs, and unanimously agreed to engage in multidisciplinary cooperation dialogue in the near future and develop a roadmap for future work. Both sides also pledged to jointly push for an early meeting between Presidents Trump and Lula.”
However, the specific timetable for a meeting between President Trump and President Lula was not disclosed.
Vieira told reporters, “This is a good start to the negotiation process, and we are committed to normalizing bilateral relations and exploring new paths.”
In early August of this year, the Trump administration raised import tariffs on most Brazilian goods from 10% to 50% and imposed visa restrictions and financial sanctions on some Brazilian officials. This move was seen as President Trump’s response to political persecution by the Lula government against former Brazilian President Bolsonaro.
President Donald Trump publicly condemned the Lula government’s trial of Bolsonaro as a “Witch Hunt” and announced tariffs on Brazilian goods as a result.
Brazilian authorities accused Bolsonaro of plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election and sentenced him to 27 years and 3 months in prison in September of this year.
At the end of September, Lula briefly interacted with Trump during the United Nations General Assembly and held a 30-minute online meeting on October 6. Lula hoped the Trump administration would lift trade and diplomatic sanctions on Brazil, and both sides agreed to instruct their foreign ministers to negotiate follow-up matters.