Trump and Brazil’s Lula hold positive talks at the White House, easing tensions over tariffs and political differences.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he had good talks with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the White House on Thursday, hailing the “very dynamic” leader despite previous tensions with his ideological opposite.
Leftist Lula, 80, and right-winger Trump, 79, have clashed before over everything from tariffs to Trump’s bid to exert US dominance over the Americas.
But they have worked to bury the hatchet in recent months — not least as Lula seeks to boost his image at home ahead of tight elections in October.
“Just concluded my meeting with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the very dynamic President of Brazil. We discussed many topics, including Trade and, specifically, Tariffs. The meeting went very well,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
The meeting was due to be open to the press but ended up happening behind closed doors.
“Our Representatives are scheduled to get together to discuss certain key elements. Additional meetings will be scheduled over the coming months, as necessary,” Trump’s post added.
Trump hit Brazil with steep tariffs on all its products in July as punishment for what he called a “witch hunt” against his far-right ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup.
Lula, who once said that Trump wants to be “emperor of the World,” took a strong, public stand against the economic measures.
He has also slammed the US removal of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and the war it launched alongside Israel against Iran.
But relations appeared to warm after Trump met Lula in Malaysia last year, and after they had a series of calls, with Trump at one point hailing their “excellent chemistry.”
Both veteran leaders are known for their long and rambling public discourses, despite being at opposite ends of the political spectrum.
The US tariffs have since been partially reduced, easing tensions between the two biggest economies in the Americas.
‘Personal rapport’
Lula however headed to the meeting politically weakened after a series of defeats in the Brazilian Congress. He is tied with Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, in opinion polls ahead of the election.
The veteran leftist is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term in office.
Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo, told AFP that Lula will want to “strengthen the personal rapport with Trump” to reduce the risk of US interference in the elections, such as overt displays of support for Flavio.
Security is the main concern of Brazilian voters ahead of the vote, and combating organized crime was high on the agenda of the meeting with Trump.
Finance Minister Dario Durigan, part of the delegation, said Wednesday that Brazil wanted to expand cooperation in fighting cartels.
The two governments in April signed a deal to share information to combat arms and drug trafficking, such as X-ray data on containers traveling from the United States to Brazil.
Trump has made the fight against so-called “narcoterrorism” a priority of his second term, designating major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and using it to justify the ouster of Maduro.
Also up for discussion were Brazil’s vast reserves of rare earth minerals — crucial for the production of high-tech goods — which Washington is scrambling to invest in.
The country holds the second-largest reserves of the critical elements in the world after China.
Late on Wednesday, Brazilian lawmakers advanced a bill that would incentivize mineral exploitation. It will next be debated in the senate.
Washington is also investigating Brazil for unfair trade practices, such as whether the country’s free PIX electronic payment system is undermining the competitiveness of US companies.
