Lula: Definitive US–Brazil solution likely to come in a few days
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Monday (Oct. 27) he is optimistic about the suspension of tariffs imposed on Brazil by the US, adding that the two countries should reach an agreement in just a few days.
“Yesterday, at the meeting [with US President Donald Trump], I got the impression that soon there will be no problems between the US and Brazil,” President Lula said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at 11 am on Monday (27) local time.
At the meeting, Lula said he reinforced the argument that the US has a trade surplus with Brazil, so there is no need to tax Brazilian products. He said he delivered a document with the topics he intends to address in the negotiations.
“I’m not demanding anything that’s not fair for Brazil, and I have on my side the truest and most absolute truth in the world – that the US does not have a deficit with Brazil, which had been the explanation given to the world for the famous taxation, that the US would only tax countries it had a trade deficit with,” he stated.
Lula turns 80 on October 27. He began the press conference by saying he is in the best moment of his life. “I have never felt so alive and with such a desire to live.” Asked by journalists if President Trump made any promises to Brazil, Lula joked that he is not a saint to take promises.
“In my opinion, what he has to do is make a commitment. And the commitment he has made is that he intends to reach a very good agreement with Brazil,” he pointed out.
According to Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, who also participated in the presser, meetings between teams from both countries will be held in the coming weeks to draft a deal.
“We have agreed to work towards a satisfactory agreement for both parties. In the coming weeks, we have agreed on a schedule of meetings between the negotiating teams to discuss the negotiations of both countries, focusing on the sectors most affected by the tariffs,” he reported.
The executive secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, Márcio Rosa, said that discussions with the US are “progressing spectacularly well.”
“Brazil requests that the political decision taken [regarding taxation] be reversed. The political aspects that could have existed are no longer there. What should never have been on the table is no longer there. Thanks to this position, we are now discussing a trade agreement and not other non-trade issues,” Rosa pointed out.
Venezuela and COP
At the meeting with Trump, the president also offered to help with negotiations with Venezuela.
“Brazil has no interest in a war in South America. Our war is against poverty and hunger. If we can’t solve the problem of hunger and poverty, how can we wage war? To kill the hungry? You can’t think that everything can be solved with bullets, because it can’t,” he added.
Lula also said he reinforced his invitation for Trump to participate in the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which will take place in November in the Amazon city of Belém, North Brazil.
“I invited him to go to COP again. I told him, ‘You should go and say what you think. If you don’t believe in things, go there so you can say what you think.’ We can’t pretend there is no climate situation,” he said.
Other markets
At the press conference, the Brazilian team also emphasized the importance of visits to Indonesia and Malaysia – countries with which Brazil intends to expand relations.
“Southeast Asia is the epicenter of global growth, a dynamic region and a hub of technological innovation that is at the heart of Brazil’s foreign policy priorities of diversifying partnerships and attracting investment,” said Minister Mauro Vieira.
President Lula also told reporters that Malaysia will have Brazil’s support to become a full member of BRICS. Currently, the country is one of the group’s partners.
