Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that a new trade agreement with the United States could be finalised within days, following what he called a surprisingly positive meeting with US President Donald Trump in Kuala Lumpur.
Lula has pushed to remove a 50 percent tariff Washington placed on Brazilian exports in July. The tariff was linked to legal action against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a key Trump ally who has since been convicted of attempting a coup after the 2022 election.
Speaking at a news conference at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, Lula said Trump offered personal assurances that the dispute could be resolved soon.
“He guaranteed to me that we will reach an agreement,” Lula said. “I am very confident that in a few days we will reach a solution.”
Trump also told reporters that discussions were headed in a good direction as he travelled onward to Japan. “We will see what happens. They would like to do a deal,” he said.
Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira described the Kuala Lumpur meeting as very positive and productive. According to him, Trump agreed to instruct his negotiating team to start a new round of bilateral talks.
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Lula said he provided Trump with a document arguing that the tariff increase was based on mistaken information, although Brazil accepts the United States has the legal right to impose such measures. He added that the situation should not be influenced by Bolsonaro’s conviction.
“Bolsonaro is part of the past now in Brazilian history,” he said.
The US decision sharply raised tensions between the two governments earlier this year. Lula has repeatedly called the tariff a mistake, pointing to what he describes as a four hundred and ten billion dollar trade surplus the United States has enjoyed over the past fifteen years.
Relations between Lula and Trump have eased recently. The two leaders held an unscheduled discussion at the United Nations in New York earlier this month, their first significant direct contact since the tariff dispute began.
Lula said he remained hopeful that the latest talks would allow economic ties to move forward.
“I am convinced that in a few days we will have a definitive solution, you know, between the United States and Brazil, so that life can continue well and happily,” he said through an interpreter.
Brazilian officials expect the next step will be formal negotiations between both governments once Trump’s team begins work on the draft deal.