Vieira and Rubio avoid talking about Bolsonaro and focus on trade in meeting

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, and the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, focused the conversation held this Thursday, in Washington, on the economic agenda between the two countries. Sensitive political issues, such as the situation of former president Jair Bolsonaro and investigations by the Brazilian Judiciary, were left off the agenda of the expanded meeting, which included the participation of ambassadors from the Itamaraty economic area and, on the American side, the White House Trade representative, Jamieson Greer.

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Private and expanded meeting marks the first direct dialogue between authorities after a conversation between Lula and Trump about bilateral relations

Before the expanded meeting, which lasted 45 minutes, Vieira and Rubio had a private 15-minute meeting. The content of the conversation was not revealed, but diplomatic interlocutors believe that, among the topics discussed, one of them may have been President Donald Trump’s plan to use the CIA to overthrow Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Since starting to apply a 50% surcharge on Brazilian products, US President Donald Trump has conditioned a trade negotiation with Brazil on the shelving of the case against Bolsonaro, which resulted in the former president’s conviction by the Federal Supreme Court (STF). Faced with the refusal of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government, Trump ordered sanctions against Brazilian citizens, with STF minister Alexandre de Moraes as the main target.

The White House’s tone has changed since last week. During a half-hour telephone conversation with Lula, Trump did not mention Bolsonaro’s name. Rubio — one of the main critics of the Brazilian Judiciary — also maintained the same behavior in the meeting with Vieira.

Vieira and Rubio also dealt with preparations for the meeting between presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump, with no date set yet. The assessment of members of the Lula government is that the meeting between the heads of diplomacy from the US and Brazil helped to reestablish a channel of trust.

Behind the scenes, members of Brazilian diplomacy highlighted that dialogue with Washington is essential to unlock negotiations that have been stalled since the beginning of the year and guarantee predictability for national exports. The tone adopted by both chancellors was described as “constructive and realistic”.

With the resumption of dialogue, Brasília hopes that the United States will adopt concrete gestures — among them, the review of the 50% tariff on Brazilian products and the easing of sanitary barriers that affect agriculture. The Brazilian chancellor also highlighted the country’s interest in strengthening technological and scientific cooperation mechanisms, especially in the areas of renewable energy and industrial innovation.

The meeting between Vieira and Rubio is part of a broader movement of rapprochement between the Lula and Trump governments. After months of diplomatic noise and trade tensions, Brasília is betting on a strategy of direct dialogue to rebuild trust with Washington and reduce uncertainty. The expectation at Itamaraty is that the conversation between the foreign ministers will help pave a more stable political ground for the future meeting between the two presidents, in which sensitive topics, such as the situation in Venezuela, should finally be addressed.