Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday (15) in Rio de Janeiro that his recent conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump “didn’t generate just chemistry — it produced a whole petrochemical industry.” Speaking humorously, Lula said the phone call was a follow-up to the brief encounter between the two leaders during the UN General Assembly in New York.
The Brazilian president confirmed that representatives of both countries will meet this Thursday (16) in Washington to discuss the tariff hikes imposed by Trump on Brazilian products. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira are expected to lead the negotiations.
The call marked the first substantive dialogue between the two governments since the start of U.S. sanctions against Brazil. According to diplomatic sources, the Republican has shown a willingness to reconsider the restrictions.
In Rio, Lula attended a Teachers’ Day ceremony alongside ministers and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta, who was booed.
