“If it depends on me and Trump, there will be an agreement”, says Lula about US tariffs

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) stated in the early hours of Monday (27), at a press conference in Malaysia, that he is optimistic about the end of tariffs imposed by the United States.

“If it depends on Trump and me, there will be an agreement,” said Lula, after the first round of meetings between Brazilian and American negotiators about the 50% tariffs applied by Washington to Brazilian products.

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The PT member stated that he had a “good impression” of the meeting with Trump and that he believes that “soon there will be no problem between the United States and Brazil”. According to Lula, the dialogue with the Republican marked the beginning of a new phase in the bilateral relationship, with the “political and ideological” part left aside.

The president highlighted that the surcharges were the result of “misinformation” about the trade balance between the two countries. “I made a point of saying that the decisions taken against Brazil were unfounded. It has been proven that the United States had a trade surplus of US$410 billion with Brazil in the last 15 years — last year alone, it was almost US$22 billion”, he said.

Lula highlighted that he delivered a written document to Trump during the meeting, detailing the points of the Brazilian demand, including the request for the immediate suspension of tariffs and the revocation of sanctions applied under the Magnitsky Act to ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

The president also stated that Brazil wants a broad trade agreement, without sectoral restrictions. “He knows what we want: first to suspend taxation and negotiate,” he said. “I recognize that a president can overtax foreign products when they cause damage to his industry, but what cannot happen is what happened to Brazil.”

Lula also emphasized that decisions must be made based on the interests of the people of both countries. “Whether we like each other or not, we are aware that our actions reflect the will of the people who elected us.”

In an optimistic tone, the president said he believed in a quick solution. “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, as Gonzaguinha said in his song.”