U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva discussed trade, the economy and fighting organized crime in a phone call on Tuesday, both sides said.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the two men also discussed sanctions – an apparent reference to his administration’s targeting of Brazil’s judiciary over the criminal case of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Trump said he and Lula “had a great talk. We talked about trade. We talked about sanctions, because, as you know, I sanctioned them having to do with certain things that took place.”
In a later social media post, Trump said he looked forward to seeing and speaking with Lula soon, adding that “much good will come out of this newly formed partnership!”
Brazil’s presidential palace said in a statement that Lula thanked Trump for his decision to remove additional tariffs on U.S. imports of Brazilian goods including coffee and beef, and added that Brazil seeks to progress on talks about products still affected by the levies.
Trump last month removed the 40% tariffs on several Brazilian food products, which also included cocoa and fruits, that he had announced in July to punish Brazil over the prosecution of Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.
During the 40-minute call on Tuesday, which the Brazilian presidential palace called “very productive,” Lula also stressed the urgency of strengthening cooperation with the United States to fight international organized crime, according to its statement.
The two leaders spoke amid recent U.S. actions in the region, including a massive military buildup in the Caribbean and three months of U.S. strikes on suspected drug boats off Venezuela’s coast.
(Reuters)
