Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his United States counterpart Donald Trump have signalled that relations between their two countries are improving, after months of economic and political tensions.
On Tuesday, the two leaders held a 40-minute phone call that each side described as “productive”.
Reducing trade barriers and tackling organised crime were among the topics they discussed. Both men agreed they would speak again soon.
“I stressed the urgency of strengthening cooperation with the US to combat international organised crime,” Lula said in a social media post following the call.
“President Trump stressed his full willingness to work with Brazil and that he will give full support to joint initiatives between the two countries to confront these criminal organisations.”
Trump, meanwhile, signalled that their conversation built upon a dialogue they had started in September, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City.
“President Lula and I established a relationship at a meeting which took place at the United Nations, and I believe it set the stage for very good dialogue and agreement long into the future,” Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social.
“I look forward to seeing and speaking with him soon. Much good will come out of this newly formed partnership!”
On Tuesday, Lula praised the tariff rollback as “very positive” but emphasised that there was more to be done.
“I highlighted that there are still other tariffed products that need to be discussed between the two countries,” Lula said. “Brazil wants to move quickly in these negotiations.”
For his part, Trump signalled that he had discussed the “sanctions imposed on various Brazilian dignitaries” in his conversation with Lula.
The US is Brazil’s second largest trading partner, behind China, and in 2024, the two countries exchanged approximately $127.6bn in goods and services.
While Trump has criticised Brazil’s economic policies as disadvantaging the US, the South American country has a steep trade deficit with the US.
The US exports nearly $91.5bn to Brazil, compared with only $36.1bn in Brazilian exports to the US.
Source: Aljazeera