President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Friday that he told President Donald Trump that he does not want “war” against him and that his dispute is “in the narrative”. Lula and Trump met on Thursday at the White House in Washington.
— What happened between us and the United States. The first thing was to prove that the USA was mistaken in saying that it had a trade deficit with us. The one with the deficit is Brazil. It was necessary to put the truth on the table — he said at an event held by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, in Brasília — I don’t want war with you. I know you have the best ship in the world, the best fighter in the world, the best… I know all this. You have to fight with me in the narrative, I want to discuss facts, I don’t want war. I want to prove that we are right.
When speaking, Lula stated that the meeting with Trump mainly discussed the situation of tariffs on imports of Brazilian and American products. He pointed out that the next 30 days will be decisive for this discussion and said he was “very calm in our relationship with the USA”:
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— Brazil has no prejudice whatsoever in its commercial relationship — he said — I am very calm in our relationship with the USA and Brazilian businesspeople can rest assured that a lot will happen from now on.
Lula on trade between Brazil and the USA: “There is a difference between them and us that was made clear at the meeting”
Yesterday, Lula classified the meeting as productive, saying that he returned to Brazil “more optimistic”. On the agenda, the main topic was trade negotiations around import tariffs on Brazilian products entering the USA, but there was space for topics such as Iran, combating organized financial crime, exploration of critical minerals and also for humorous moments.
Lula, who was welcomed with a red carpet, stated that the conversation did not avoid complex subjects, on the contrary: according to him, they discussed “subjects that seemed taboo”.
However, Pix and the classification of criminal factions as terrorist organizations were not addressed. On the commercial side, it was agreed that teams from both governments will work for another 30 days to advance negotiations on import tariffs on Brazilian products entering the United States.
— I did the meeting, I’m happy. I return to Brazil more optimistic. I think President Trump was also optimistic and I hope things start to move forward — said Lula, in a press conference at the Brazilian embassy, in Washington, after the meeting. — I leave here with the idea that we have taken an important step in consolidating the democratic and historic relationship with the USA.
