Before the meeting, Lula said he had an infinite agenda of topics to discuss with him, and took the topics printed on papers that he would also deliver to the American
VICTORIA DAMASCENO
KUALA LAMPUR, MALAYSIA (FOLHAPRESS) – President Donald Trump told journalists, at the entrance of the meeting with Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), that the tariffs imposed on Brazil can be negotiated very quickly. The bilateral meeting took place this Sunday afternoon (26) local time. After the meeting, Chancellor Mauro Vieira stated that tariff negotiations will begin this Sunday.
Before the meeting, Lula said he had an endless agenda of topics to discuss with him, and took the topics printed on papers that he would also hand over to the American. Chancellor Mauro Vieira was also present.
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Even before the meeting, asked if the sentences against the former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, were one of the conditions for negotiations with the Brazilian government, the American leader said that this was none of the journalists’ business. “I like Bolsonaro. He’s a good guy.
We were uncomfortable with the penalties against him,” said Trump. The issue, however, was not raised, according to the Brazilian government.
The expectation was that the Brazilian president would focus mainly on the trade war, while his counterpart should target access to Brazil’s ethanol market and the regulation of big tech.
The meeting took place this Sunday afternoon (26) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where they are participating as guests at the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in Portuguese) summit.
Although the meeting had been agreed for days, the meeting remained outside the presidency’s official agenda to prevent the Brazilian government from being in a sensitive position, should any unforeseen event occur.
The apprehension was similar to that experienced by the government when organizing the meeting. The preference for it to be in a third country was due to the fear that Trump would be an unpredictable figure, and that a visit to Washington to discuss the problem could put Lula in an inappropriate situation.
The fear was that the American would carry out a kind of ambush for the Brazilian, like what he did with other European leaders in the White House.
The meeting was also preceded by government apprehension due to Lula’s statements on his tour of Asia. When he passed through Jakarta, Indonesia, the president touched on sensitive topics for Americans, such as Venezuela, and criticized the country’s protectionism without mentioning Trump by name.
In a conversation with journalists, Lula said that traffickers are “victims” of drug users, referring to US attacks on Venezuelan vessels.
Speaking to journalists shortly after taking off, Trump stated that he could reduce Brazil’s tariffs “under the right circumstances”. Marco Rubio, when speaking to the press aboard Air Force One after leaving Qatar, said that it is better for Brazil, in the long term, for the country to be a trade partner with the USA, and not with China.
The Secretary of State also stated that political issues may be linked to the possible agreement with Brazil.
“Obviously, we have some issues with Brazil, particularly with the way they have treated some of their judges, with the digital sector in the United States, with individuals located in the United States, through social media posts. We will have to address that as well,” he said.
“That’s become an issue in all of this. But the president is going to explore whether there are ways to resolve all of this, because we think it will be beneficial to do so. It’s going to take some time.”
