In a joint statement, Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer reported that they “held very positive talks on trade and ongoing bilateral issues”.
Mauro Vieira and the US officials met on Thursday (16) at the White House in Washington, with the main focus on tariffs imposed by the United States on Brazilian products.
The statement also says the authorities are committed to scheduling a meeting between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump.
“Secretary Rubio, Ambassador Greer, and Minister Mauro Vieira agreed to collaborate and conduct discussions on several fronts in the immediate future, as well as to establish a joint work path. Both parties also agreed to work jointly toward holding a meeting between President Trump and President Lula at the first possible opportunity,” the note states, released in Portuguese and English.
No date or location for the meeting between the presidents was disclosed. Initially, the expectation was that the meeting could occur during the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia at the end of October.
However, as the Brazilian foreign minister informed journalists in an interview, the presidents’ schedules will determine the most appropriate time for the meeting.
The meeting between Vieira and Rubio marks the resumption of dialogue between the two countries after months of diplomatic tension.
Relations between Brazil and the United States have been unstable since the Trump administration decided to impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian products. The measure was justified by the White House as a response to an alleged “politicization” of the Brazilian Judiciary and the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro for attempted coup d’état.
In addition to the tariff hike, Washington also imposed financial and consular sanctions on Brazilian authorities, including Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The actions were viewed in Brasília as political retaliation.
The meeting between Vieira and Rubio is the first high-level encounter since Trump reassumed the US Presidency in January. The meeting signals an effort at rapprochement between the two countries, which began after a brief conversation between Lula and Trump during the United Nations General Assembly in September in New York.
Source: Agência Brasil