KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Brazil’s leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed confidence on Monday that his country and the United States will reach a trade deal. President Donald Trump also signaled that a deal is likely.
The statements came a day after the two presidents held talks on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital, which Lula described as a “very good meeting.”
Trump, who headed to Japan from Malaysia, also said he and Lula “had a great meeting” on Sunday.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Tokyo. “They’d like to do a deal.”
Earlier, Trump had said he could reduce tariffs on Brazil that he had enacted in a push for leniency for Brazil’s imprisoned former president, a Trump ally.
“I think we should be able to make some good deals for both countries,” Trump had said after meeting Lula.
According to Lula, he presented Trump with a written document outlining arguments against the U.S. tariff hikes that Lula said acknowledged the United States has the right to impose the measures while arguing its move was based on “mistaken information.”
Trump did not commit to suspending the tariff hikes, nor did he raise any conditions during their talks, Lula said.
“He guaranteed to me that we will reach an agreement,” Lula told a news conference, speaking through an interpreter. “I am very confident that in a few days we will reach a solution.”
The Trump administration imposed a 40% tariff on Brazilian products in July on top of a 10% tariff increase earlier. The U.S. justified the tariffs by saying that Brazil’s policies and criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro constitute an economic emergency.
Bolsonaro was recently convicted of attempting a coup after losing his bid for reelection in 2022, and a panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced him to about 27 years in prison.
Lula said he again reminded Trump that Brazil was one of three Group of 20 industrialized and emerging-market nations with which the U.S. maintains a trade surplus. The U.S. had a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year, according to the Census Bureau.
He also noted that Bolsonaro had been given a fair trial, and that his case should not factor in their trade negotiations.
“Bolsonaro is part of the past now in Brazilian history,” he said.
Lula said he also offered to help mediate the crisis in Venezuela, where President Nicolás Maduro has accused the U.S. of fabricating a war against him after Washington sent the world’s biggest warship toward his country.
Lula, who marked his 80th birthday on Monday, said he felt at a high point of his life and that he hopes to live up to 120 years old. He was in Kuala Lumpur to attend annual summits held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a guest of chair Malaysia, which hopes to deepen the region’s trade links with Latin America.
From aboard Air Force One, the 79-year-old Trump also wished Lula a happy birthday, describing the Brazilian president as “a very vigorous guy.”
“I was very impressed,” Trump said.
