President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated this Monday (27) that he is optimistic about the suspension of tariffs imposed on Brazil by the United States and that, within a few days, the countries should reach an agreement.
“Yesterday I had meeting [com o presidente Donald Trump] a good impression that soon there will be no problem between the United States and Brazil”, said Lula, at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at 11 am on Monday (27), local time (at midnight in Brazil).
“I am convinced that, in a few days, we will have a definitive solution between the United States and Brazil so that life continues to be good and happy, just as Gonzaguinha said in his song,” he added.
At the meeting, Lula said he reinforced the argument that the United States records a surplus in trade with Brazil, and there is no need to tax Brazilian products. Lula stated that he delivered a document with the topics he intends to address in the negotiations.
“I am not demanding anything that is not fair for Brazil and I have on my side the truest and most absolute truth in the world, the United States does not have a deficit with Brazil, which was the explanation of the famous taxation to the world, that the United States would only tax countries with which they had a trade deficit”, he said.
Asked by journalists if Trump made any promises to Brazil, Lula joked that he is not a saint to receive promises.
“For me, what he has to do is compromise. And the commitment he made is that he intends to make a very good quality agreement with Brazil.”
According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, who also participated in the press conference, in the coming weeks, meetings between teams from both countries will take place to build an agreement.
“We agreed to work to build a satisfactory agreement for both parties. In the coming weeks, we agreed on a schedule of meetings between the negotiating teams to discuss the negotiations of both countries with a focus on the sectors most affected by the tariffs”, he stated.
The executive secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Márcio Rosa, said that discussions with the United States are “progressing spectacularly well”.
“Brazil requests that there be a reversal of the political decision taken [relativa à taxação]. The political aspects that could exist are no longer on the table, what could never have been on the table is no longer on the table. Thanks to this position, today we are discussing a commercial agreement and not with other non-commercial natures”, highlighted Rosa.
Venezuela and COP
In the meeting with Trump, the president also made himself available to help in negotiations with Venezuela.
“This was very clear, if you need Brazil to help, we are available, we are available to negotiate”, he said.
“Brazil has no interest in there being a war in South America. Our war is against poverty and hunger. If we can’t solve the problem of hunger and misery, how are we going to fight a war? To kill the hungry? You can’t think that everything can be solved with a bullet, which it isn’t”, he added.
Lula also said that he reinforced the invitation for Trump to participate in the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30), which will take place in November, in Belém. The North American president announced the country’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, in which countries commit to reducing emissions of polluting gases among other measures to reduce global warming.
“I invited him to go to the COP again, I told him: ‘It’s important that you go to say what you think. If you don’t believe in things, go there so you can say what you think’. We can’t pretend that we don’t have a climate situation,” he said.
Other markets
At the press conference, the Brazilian team also highlighted 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 zone and a hub of technological innovation that is at the center of Brazilian foreign policy priorities for diversifying partnerships and attracting investments,” stated minister Mauro Vieira.
President Lula also told journalists that the Malaysia will have support from Brazil to become a full member of the BRICS. Currently, the country is one of the group’s partners.
Lula turns 80 this October 27th. He started the press conference by saying that he is in the best moment of my life. “I have never felt so alive and so eager to live.”
*Extended article at 1:41 am
