US contacts Brazilian Foreign Ministry to discuss tariffs
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced Thursday (Oct. 9) that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has contacted Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira to discuss the extra tariffs on Brazilian products exported to the US.
Lula and US President Donald Trump spoke via videoconference on Monday (6). According to the Brazilian leader, negotiations are entering a new phase.
“I confess I was surprised by the outcome of the conversation, because it was something that seemed unlikely to happen. It seemed impossible,” said Lula, further noting that they also spoke briefly behind the scenes at the United Nations General Assembly last month.
“He called me, and I expected a lot of discussion. He called me in the kindest way a human being can treat another. I treated him civilly, and he treated me civilly,” President Lula added. The two presidents exchanged phone numbers to establish a direct line of communication and are also expected to meet in person soon.
“We are two 80-year-old gentlemen, the presidents of the two largest democracies in the West, and we need to convey cordiality and harmony to the rest of the world – not discord and strife. So it was an extraordinary thing. I told him it was necessary to remove the taxation on Brazilian products, that he had been misinformed. So now, another moment begins,” Lula said in a radio interview in Bahia on Thursday (9).
First talks
President Trump appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to continue negotiations. “Maybe we’ll start talking from now on and see if we can work things out, because Brazil doesn’t want a fight with the US,” said the president.
“The US is a 201-year-old alliance; it’s a really strong thing. So we want to maintain a good, civilized, democratic, respectful relationship without giving up our concept of democracy and our sovereignty,” Lula added.
In a statement released today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the conversation between Rubio and Vieira. The two are expected to meet soon in Washington “to follow up on economic and trade issues between the two countries, as defined by the presidents.”
Tariffs
The tariffs imposed on Brazil are part of the new policy introduced by President Donald Trump aimed at raising tariffs on a number of trading partners in a bid to reverse the relative loss of competitiveness of the US economy to China in recent decades.
On April 2, Trump imposed customs barriers on countries according to the size of the US trade deficit with each nation. As the US actually has a surplus with Brazil, the lowest rate of 10 percent was imposed at the time.
However, on August 6, an additional 40 percent tariff against Brazil came into effect in retaliation for decisions that, according to Trump, would harm US big tech companies, and in response to the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, convicted of leading an attempted coup after losing the 2022 elections.
Among the products taxed by the US are coffee, fruits, and meats. About 700 items (45 percent of Brazil’s exports to the US), such as orange juice and pulp, fuels, minerals, fertilizers, and civil aircraft, were exempt from taxation. Later, other products were exempted from additional tariffs.
