President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) stated this Thursday (9) that negotiations between Brazil and the United States on the 50% tariff applied by Washington to Brazilian products have begun to advance.
According to Lula, the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, called Chancellor Mauro Vieira on Wednesday (8) to discuss the next steps in the bilateral dialogue.
“Now another moment begins. Just yesterday Secretary of State Marco Rubio called my minister Mauro Vieira, maybe we’ll start having a conversation from now on. Let’s see if we can get it right. Brazil doesn’t want a fight with the USA”, said the president in a radio interview Piatãfrom Bahia.
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The call takes place three days after , on Monday (7). The phone call was the first direct contact between the two leaders since the Republican took office.
Rubio assumes dialogue
with the Brazilian team, formed by Mauro Vieira (Foreign Affairs), Geraldo Alckmin (vice-president) and Fernando Haddad (Finance).
The appointment of the Republican senator generated concern at Itamaraty, but Lula minimized the risk and highlighted the “cordial tone” of the conversation with the American leader.
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“He called me in the kindest way that a human being can deal with another. I said: ‘President, we need to treat each other without liturgy, you call me you, I call you you. We are two 80-year-old gentlemen, we preside over the two largest democracies in the West and we need to convey cordiality, harmony and not discord and fights to the rest of the world'”, reported Lula.
Surcharges and sanctions
During the phone call, Lula asked Trump to remove the surcharges imposed on Brazilian products and sanctions against Judiciary authorities, such as ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
On August 6, the American government applied an additional tariff of 40% on Brazilian exports, in addition to the 10% already in force — a measure that Brazil considers politically motivated. According to Lula, the request made to Trump is for a 40% reduction, maintaining only the 10% rate common to other countries.
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“I explained to him that Brazil is not an enemy of the United States and that he had not received correct information. Brazil wants a respectful relationship, with dialogue and partnership,” said Lula.
