According to the Brazilian Presidency, the conversation between the two leaders lasted about 30 minutes, during which Lula da Silva “requested the withdrawal of the 40% surcharge imposed on national products and the restrictive measures applied against Brazilian authorities”.
“Both leaders agreed to meet in person soon,” the same note reads, with Lula proposing the possibility of the meeting taking place during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, which will take place in Malaysia from 26 October.
In addition, Lula da Silva expressed his willingness to travel to the United States. The Brazilian head of state reminded Donald Trump “that Brazil is one of the three G20 countries with which the United States has a surplus in the balance of goods and services,” thus reinforcing one of Brazil’s arguments to demonstrate the commercial injustice of the tariffs imposed by the United States.
In the conversation, which took place “in a friendly tone,” the leaders recalled the “good chemistry they had in New York during the UN General Assembly,” and now “exchanged phone numbers to establish a direct line of communication,” said the Brazilian government.
Donald Trump appointed secretary of state Marco Rubio to continue negotiations with Brazilian Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad.
On the Brazilian government side, the conversation was attended by Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, Ministers Mauro Vieira, Fernando Haddad and Sidônio Palmeira, as well as Special Adviser Celso Amorim.
Donald Trump appointed secretary of state Marco Rubio to continue negotiations with Brazilian Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad. (Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP)
The United States and Brazil are experiencing an unprecedented diplomatic crisis triggered, initially, by the Brazilian presidency of the BRICS, but mainly by the trial that led to the sentencing of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a political ally of Donald Trump, to 27 years and three months in prison.
Donald Trump, who sees the trial as a “witch hunt” against Jair Bolsonaro, has been warned several times by Lula da Silva that Brazilian sovereignty is not on the table for discussion between the two countries.
In addition to tariffs, the United States has restricted visas to several Brazilian political and judicial authorities, such as Supreme Court judges, and imposed the Magnitsky Act on Judge Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the case against Jair Bolsonaro.
(The Magnitsky Act authorizes the U.S. government to: Impose visa bans and asset freezes on Russian individuals responsible for Russian tax lawyer Sergei Magnitsky’s death in a Moscow prison in 2009, or related human rights abuses and to sanction individuals involved in significant corruption tied to the fraud Magnitsky exposed).
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