{"id":480415,"date":"2025-10-07T12:45:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/480415\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T12:45:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T12:45:12","slug":"is-donald-trump-trying-to-dial-back-tensions-with-brazil-donald-trump-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/480415\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Donald Trump trying to dial back tensions with Brazil? | Donald Trump News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked United States President Donald Trump to lift the 40 percent additional trade tariff imposed by the US government on Brazilian imports, in a phone call<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n

The leaders spoke for 30 minutes. During the call, they exchanged phone numbers in order to maintain a direct line of contact, and President Lula reiterated his invitation for Trump to attend the upcoming climate summit in Belem, according to a statement from Lula\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

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The apparently friendly call may signal a turnaround in relations between the two, which have been strained in recent months<\/a>, experts say. It also follows Trump\u2019s comment that he had \u201cexcellent chemistry\u201d with his Brazilian counterpart after the two had a brief, unscheduled meeting and even exchanged a hug on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was surprised indeed,\u201d Lula said about embracing the US president. \u201cI was going to get my papers and leave, then Trump came to my side. A very friendly face, very nice, you know? I think there was some chemistry indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, both sides have suggested that a formal, in-person meeting between the two could happen later this month.<\/p>\n

Trump and Lula have been at loggerheads since July, when the US leader imposed tariffs totalling 50 percent on Brazilian exports (the 40 percent tariff plus a 10 percent standard tariff imposed by the current administration in Washington on all nations). In announcing those tariffs on Brazil, Trump cited\u00a0what he described as a \u201cfraudulent\u201d prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was recently sentenced to 27 years in prison<\/a> for attempting to overturn the 2022 presidential election which he lost to Lula.<\/p>\n

Why have tensions been building between Trump and Lula?<\/p>\n

Although the US has a trading surplus with Brazil \u2013 meaning it exports more to Brazil than it imports \u2013 Trump nevertheless imposed a total 50 percent tariff<\/a> on a number of Brazilian exports in July. In general, Trump has said that tariffs imposed on other countries\u2019 exports are designed to redress the balance of a US trading deficit. That is not the case here.<\/p>\n

Known as the \u201cTrump of the Tropics\u201d, Bolsonaro, a former army captain, led Brazil for a single term, from 2019 to 2023. Last month, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for orchestrating an attempted military coup, following his 2022 electoral defeat to Lula.<\/p>\n

Trump, who said he had many \u201cshared values\u201d with Bolsonaro, similarly claimed to have lost a \u201cfraudulent\u201d election to Joe Biden in 2020. There is no evidence to support this claim.<\/p>\n

In his letter to Brazil to announce the new tariffs in July, Trump wrote: \u201cThe way that Brazil has treated\u2026 \u00a0Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis trial should not be taking place,\u201d he added. \u201cIt is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to sky-high tariffs, Trump tried to further pressure Lula to drop the case by hitting supreme court justices with visa bans<\/a> and slapping financial sanctions on the judge overseeing the case \u2013 Alexandre de Moraes.<\/p>\n

He also revealed in his tariff letter to Brazil that he had directed US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to investigate Brazil for unfair practices under the Trade Act of 1974.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, however, Brazil went ahead with Bolsonaro\u2019s prosecution, and the former president was convicted.<\/p>\n

And even though Trump voiced surprise at Bolsonaro\u2019s verdict \u2013 describing him as a \u201cgood man\u201d on the day he was sentenced \u2013 the US president has since then not escalated further tariffs or other penalties against Brazil.<\/p>\n

In mid-September, Lula described Trump\u2019s tariffs in an interview with the BBC as \u201ceminently political\u201d, and told US consumers they would face higher prices for Brazilian goods as a result.<\/p>\n

Why might Trump be softening his stance towards Lula now?<\/p>\n

In an unplanned exchange on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York last Tuesday, the two presidents spoke in person for the first time. \u201cAt least for 39 seconds, we had excellent chemistry,\u201d Trump said after their encounter.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe seemed like a very nice man, actually,\u201d Trump told reporters. \u201cHe liked me, I liked him.\u201d His comments have been interpreted by some analysts as a potential thawing in recent US-Brazil relations.<\/p>\n

However, Trump\u2019s softer tone may have been prompted by hard economic realities, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics\u2019 chief Latin America economist, Andres Abadia. The US depends heavily on Brazil for its coffee and meat imports, and both have taken a hit amid the tariff war. The result: Prices have shot up.<\/p>\n

Brazil is the largest source of imported coffee for the US \u2013 responsible for $1.33bn out of the $7.85bn total coffee imports by the US in 2023, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). But since the 50 percent tariffs kicked in, Cecafe, Brazil\u2019s council of coffee exporters, said exports to the US fell by 46 percent in August and had dropped 20 percent more by September 19.<\/p>\n

Amid that supply crunch, coffee prices in the US rose 21 percent in August compared with a year earlier, even as overall food price inflation hovered at about 3 percent, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prospect of higher coffee prices,\u201d Abadia said, \u201cwould be bad for Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brazil is also the US\u2019s third-largest source of imported meat, behind Australia and Canada, according to the US Department of Agriculture. \u201cAs with coffee, higher beef prices would hit Trump,\u201d Abadia told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Beef and veal prices rose by almost 14 percent in August compared with a year earlier, according to the BLS.<\/p>\n

By contrast, Brazil appears to have weathered Trump\u2019s tariffs better than the US might have expected: Its overall exports grew in September, compared with a year earlier, as it expanded its offerings to other markets, including China and Argentina.<\/p>\n

According to a new survey published on September 29 by The New York Times and Siena University, Trump\u2019s approval ratings have fallen recently, with 58 percent of respondents saying they think the country is headed in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cInflation is definitely biting<\/a> in the US,\u201d says Abadia. \u201cAnd anything that can be done to ease the pain, especially as we approach the holiday season, would be seen as positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s in it for Lula?<\/p>\n

Even though Brazil\u2019s exports, on the whole, have not fallen, its declining access to the US \u2013 a critical market \u2013 could hurt the interests of its export-oriented industries.<\/p>\n

Lula, experts say, may at least seek additions from Trump to a long list of Brazilian goods already exempt from tariffs \u2013 including civilian aircraft and orange juice. At the moment, meat and coffee are both tariffed at 50 percent.<\/p>\n

But the Brazilian president may not be willing to offer the same sorts of one-sided concessions that Japan<\/a> and the European Union<\/a> agreed to \u2013 such as tariff reductions and investment pledges \u2013 to get their own trade deals through, say analysts.<\/p>\n

Indeed, for his part, Lula\u2019s feud with Trump has boosted his popularity<\/a>, and Washington\u2019s interventions in Brazilian politics have put the country\u2019s conservatives on the back foot. Before next year\u2019s presidential election, Lula is currently polling ahead of his top opponents, though the 79-year-old has not formally announced his bid. Lula was also the country\u2019s president from 2003 to 2011.<\/p>\n

Still, Abadia believes an opportunity for rapprochement is there. The most fertile area for compromise may lie in rare earth minerals. Brazil has the world\u2019s second-largest reserves behind China. And for now, they remain largely untapped.<\/p>\n

\u201cCritical minerals are one area where bilateral interests align,\u201d he said. \u201cThe US wants to diversify away from China and play an important role in the Brazilian market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump has shown a clear interest in rare earths, placing them at the heart of his deal with Ukraine, for instance. Brazil, on its part, wants to emerge as an exporter and supplier of these minerals.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly,\u201d noted Abadia, \u201cthat would be a positive for cooperation. But Trump\u2019s diplomatic unpredictability continues to cast a shadow. If confidence is broken again, for whatever reason, trust will be eroded and relations could get even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked United States President Donald Trump to lift the 40 percent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[2106,32,1700,13641,1203,476,3058,12,285,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-480415","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-brazil","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-explainer","12":"tag-food","13":"tag-inflation","14":"tag-international-trade","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115332954504532163","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}