WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. and Brazilian officials held trade talks on Thursday that the two sides called positive and agreed to work to schedule a meeting between President Donald Trump and his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva “at the earliest possible occasion”.
In a joint statement, the delegations said they would “conduct discussions on multiple fronts in the immediate future and establish a working path forward,” though no timeline was given for the proposed Trump-Lula meeting.
The talks in Washington, which included U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, marks the latest diplomatic contact between the two countries in recent weeks after months of a frozen relationship.
“This is an auspicious start to a negotiation process in which we will work to normalize and open new paths for bilateral relations,” Vieira told journalists in Washington.
Trump increased tariffs on U.S. imports of most Brazilian goods to 50% from 10% in early August, linking the move to what he called a “witch hunt” against former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro ended up being convicted in September by a Supreme Court panel to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election to Lula.
Last week, Trump and Lula held a phone call, following a brief encounter at the United Nations in September, after which both said they came away with positive impressions.
During the call, they agreed to meet in person, raising hopes for a thaw in bilateral relations that are at their lowest point in decades.
Thursday’s talks were “great”, with a productive tone and focused on technical issues, Vieira said. The meeting lasted about an hour and included a 20-minute one-on-one session with Rubio, he added.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Ismail Shakil in Washington, Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; editing by Costas Pitas and Natalia Siniawski)
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