Trump and Lula of Brazil delay their relationships after previous pricing disputes

President Donald Trump said he had a “very good” telephone call on Monday with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, their first substantive conversation since their argument on American customs tariffs and prosecution against former president Jair Bolsonaro.

“We will have other discussions and we will come together in the not too distant future, both in Brazil and in the United States,” wrote Trump on Truth Social. “I appreciated this call: our countries will succeed very well together!”

The exchange marked a thaw in what had become one of the most controversial diplomatic relations in the Western hemisphere. Since his return to power, Trump has frequently struck Lula’s left government on trade, the energy policy and the treatment of Bolsonaro – a close ally of Trump who shaped a large part of his political brand on the former American president.

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President Donald Trump said he had a “very good” telephone call on Monday with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, their first substantive conversation since their argument on American customs tariffs and the prosecution engaged by Brasilia against former president Jair Bolsonaro. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)

Earlier this year, Trump imposed customs duties of 40 % on Brazilian exports to the United States, hitting key sectors in the economy of this South American country, including oil, soy, sugar, coffee and steel products. Brazil is also the third foreign supplier of United States meat, behind Australia and Canada-a commercial flow which could be considerably reduced if customs duties remained in place.

These measures, associated with targeted sanctions against several officials of the Brazilian government, were presented by the White House as a response to the Trump employees called “judicial persecution” against Bolsonaro. The former president of Brazil was found guilty last month and sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in the failed insurrection of 2023 against the government of Lula – a verdict which polarized Brazil and aroused the condemnation of populist movements around the world.

Since his return to power, Trump has frequently struck Lula’s left government on trade, the energy policy and the treatment of Bolsonaro – a close ally of Trump who shaped a large part of his political brand on the former American president. (Eraldo Pérès/AP)

Trump and his advisers openly compared the proceedings engaged against Bolsonaro to what they describe as politically motivated charges with which Trump was confronted in the United States after the riots of the Capitol of January 6, 2021. In a letter addressed in June to the Brazilian government announcing the new customs tariffs, Trump wrote that “Brazil, Directors well respected worldwide during his mandate, including by the United States, is an international shame ”.

“This trial should not take place,” added Trump. “It is a witch hunt that must end immediately.”

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The customs tariffs, associated with targeted sanctions against several officials of the Brazilian government, were designed by the White House as a response to the Trump collaborators called “judicial persecution” against Bolsonaro. (Luis Nova/AP)

The letter also confirmed that Trump had asked the American representative to trade, Jamieson Greer, to open an investigation under article 301 of the 1974 trade law on what the administration described as “unfair and discriminatory practices” from the Brazilian government. Such surveys have always been the prelude to climbing customs duties or broader economic sanctions.

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Trump and Lula briefly met last month in the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the two leaders shared a surprisingly cordial handshake and a few words. “For at least 39 seconds, we had an excellent alchemy,” said Trump, suggesting a possible opening of a renewed dialogue between the two biggest democracies of the hemisphere.