Trump, Lula Signal Possible Brazil-U.S. Tariffs Deal Within Days

U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met briefly on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday and signaled optimism that a bilateral trade deal resolving recent U.S. tariffs on Brazilian goods could be reached within days. Both leaders described the encounter as positive, with Lula saying he was confident an agreement would be forthcoming and Trump saying he expected “pretty good deals for both countries.”

The talks come after the Biden administration implemented steep U.S. tariffs on many Brazilian products this summer, raising effective duties to roughly 50 percent. The White House tied the measures to what it described as an economic emergency linked to Brazilian policies and to legal actions against former president Jair Bolsonaro. Trump has framed some of the tariff justification as related to calls for leniency for Bolsonaro, who was convicted on charges tied to an attempted coup and sentenced to about 27 years in prison.

Lula said he presented Trump with a written dossier arguing the tariff hikes were based on incorrect information, while acknowledging the United States has the...