Lula celebrates withdrawal of Brazilian products from tariffs: ‘I’m happy’

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated, on Thursday night (20), the removal of 40% tariffs from the United States on a series of Brazilian products, such as coffee, beef and fruit. He made the statement during his participation in the opening of the Motor Show in São Paulo.

“Today I am happy because President Trump has started to reduce taxes,” said the PT member, who met with US President Donald Trump on October 26. After the conversation, the two countries’ diplomats continued negotiating. Brazilian congressmen and businesspeople also went to Washington to negotiate the tariffs.

“These things will start to happen when we start to gain people’s respect”, continued Lula. The president also said that the country needs solidity and tranquility.

Lula also said that he is “lucky” and praised ministers Fernando Haddad (Economy) and Geraldo Alckmin (Industry and Commerce). He also praised the Brazilian automotive industry.

The conversations with the Brazilian were cited by Trump as one of the reasons for the decision: “On October 6, 2025, I participated in a conversation with Brazilian President Lula, during which we agreed to begin negotiations to address the concerns identified”, wrote US President Donald Trump. “Among other relevant considerations, there was initial progress in negotiations with the Government of Brazil,” said the Republican.

Last week, the US government had already removed the so-called “reciprocal tariffs”, of 10%, on these products for imports from any country.

Since August, the import of products from Brazil into the United States has been subject to a 50% surcharge, a percentage that was determined based on two orders from Donald Trump: one in April, when Brazil began to have a 10% surcharge, and another that came into effect in August, totaling the “tariff” at 50%.

The Brazilian government had been meeting with members of the White House to minimize the effects of the tariff. In October, Donald Trump and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) met in Malaysia and said they were willing to discuss a trade agreement to reduce tariffs. .

Products exempt from tariffs

The White House announced, on Thursday night (20), the exclusion of a series of products from the 40% tariff against Brazil.

The product list includes:

• Beef and offal (carcasses, bone-in and boneless cuts, giblets, salted/smoked meat, premium cuts, fresh or frozen)

• Fresh, frozen, dried or preserved fruits (diverse tropical fruits, etrogs, religious vegetable products, jicama, fruit bread, chayote)

• Seasonal tomatoes and roots (seasonal three-window tomatoes, cassava/cassava, taro, yautia, water chestnut, various fresh/frozen/dried tubers)

• Dried, frozen or preserved vegetables (bamboo shoots, dried mushrooms, capers, Bambara beans)

• Religious baked goods (breads, cakes, cookies, hosts, religious wafers, rice paper)

• Fertilizers and agricultural chemical inputs (urea, nitrates, phosphates, potassium, sulfates, animal and vegetable fertilizers)

• Oil, derivatives and minerals (coke, bitumen, asphalt, electrical energy, silicon, mineral oxides and hydroxides)

• Wood, paper, cellulose and related articles (sawn tropical wood, cellulose pulp, paper mache, paper fans, paper gaskets and washers, frames)

• Specific textile products (sisal/agave yarn for baling)

• Special stones and minerals (worked monumental stone, crocidolite products)

• Aircraft equipment and parts (motors, heat exchangers, pumps, refrigeration parts, navigation instruments, LED and non-LED lighting, internal furniture)

• Embedded computers and electronics (processors, scanners, storage units, keyboards, fonts, converters, transformers)

• Aeronautical audio and video equipment (amplifiers, speakers, reproducers, recorders, video devices)

• Televisions, monitors and associated electronic components (antennas, printed circuits, tuners, boards, lenses and optical subassemblies)

• Drones and unmanned systems (various weight ranges and categories)

• Aircraft structural parts (propellers, rotors, landing gear, miscellaneous parts)

• Industrial machines, tools and equipment (centrifuges, filters, extinguishers, winches, elevators, printers, specialized machines, electromechanical devices)

• Batteries and accumulators (lead-acid, NiCd, NiMH, lithium, parts and separators)

• Ignition systems and automotive equipment applied to aircraft (spark plugs, magnetos, coils, starter motors, regulators, generators)