Trump and Brazil’s Lula thaw relations after previous tariff disputes

President Donald Trump said he had a “very good” phone call with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday, their first substantive conversation since the pair sparred over U.S. tariffs and the prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

“We will be having further discussions, and will get together in the not too distant future, both in Brazil and the United States,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I enjoyed the call — our countries will do very well together!”

The exchange marked a thaw in what had become one of the more contentious diplomatic relationships in the Western Hemisphere. Since returning to office, Trump has frequently clashed with Lula’s leftist government over trade, energy policy, and the treatment of Bolsonaro — a close Trump ally who modeled much of his political brand on the former U.S. president.

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Earlier this year, Trump imposed a 40% tariff on Brazilian exports to the United States, hitting key sectors of the South American nation’s economy, including petroleum, soybeans, sugar, coffee, and iron and steel products. Brazil is also the United States’ third-largest foreign supplier of meat, behind Australia and Canada — a trade flow that could be sharply curtailed if the tariffs remain in place.

The measures, coupled with targeted sanctions on several Brazilian government officials, were framed by the White House as a response to what Trump aides called “judicial persecution” of Bolsonaro. The former president of Brazil was convicted last month and sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in a failed 2023 insurrection against Lula’s government — a verdict that has polarized Brazil and drawn condemnation from right-wing populist movements around the world.

Trump and his advisers have openly compared Bolsonaro’s prosecution to what they describe as politically motivated charges Trump faced in the United States after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. In a June letter to Brazil’s government announcing the new tariffs, Trump wrote that “the way that Brazil has treated… Bolsonaro, a highly respected leader throughout the world during his term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace.”

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

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The letter also confirmed that Trump had directed U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to initiate an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into what the administration described as “unfair and discriminatory practices” by Brazil’s government. Such probes have historically been a prelude to escalating tariffs or broader economic sanctions.

Trump and Lula briefly crossed paths at the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, where the two leaders shared an unexpectedly cordial handshake and a few words. “At least for 39 seconds, we had excellent chemistry,” Trump joked afterward, suggesting a possible opening for renewed dialogue between the hemisphere’s two largest democracies.