Lula says US-Brazil trade deal is close after ‘very good’ Trump meeting – insists Bolsonaro is ‘part of the past’

These statements came a day after the two presidents held talks On the sidelines of the regional summit in Kuala Lumpurcapital of Malaysia, which Lula described as “a very good meeting”.

Trump, who traveled to Japan from Malaysia, said that he and Lula had a “wonderful meeting” on Sunday.

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to Tokyo. “They want to make a deal.”

Earlier, Trump said that he could reduce the tariffs on Brazil that he approved as part of his efforts Leniency towards the imprisoned former Brazilian presidentTrump ally.

“I think we should be able to make some good deals for both countries,” Trump said after his meeting with Lula.

According to Lula, he presented Trump with a written document outlining the arguments against increasing US tariffs, which Lula said acknowledged that the United States had the right to impose these measures, and that its move was based on “false information.”

Lula said that Trump did not commit to suspending the tariff increase, and did not put forward any conditions during their talks.

“He assured me that we would reach an agreement,” Lula said at a news conference, speaking through a translator. “I am very confident that we will find a solution within a few days.”

The Trump administration imposed a 40% tariff on Brazilian products in July, in addition to an earlier 10% tariff increase. US Justify the definitions Saying that Brazil’s policies and the criminal prosecution of the former president Jair Bolsonaro It constitutes an economic emergency.

Bolsonaro was recently found guilty of an attempted coup after losing his re-election bid in 2022 and a panel from Brazil’s Supreme Court. He was sentenced to about 27 years in prison.

Lula said he reminded Trump again that Brazil was one of three G20 industrialized and emerging market countries with which the United States maintains a trade surplus. The United States achieved a trade surplus of $6.8 billion with Brazil last year, according to the figures Census Bureau.

He also noted that Bolsonaro received a fair trial, and that his case should not be taken into account in their trade negotiations.

“Bolsonaro is part of the past now in Brazilian history,” he said.

Lula said he also offered to help mediate the crisis in Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro accused the United States of fabricating a war against him after Washington sent the world’s largest warship towards his country.

Lula, who celebrated his 80th birthday on Monday, said he felt he had reached the peak of his life and that he hoped to live to be 120 years old. He was in Kuala Lumpur to attend the annual summit meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as a guest of Malaysia, which holds the presidency, and which hopes to deepen the region’s trade ties with Latin America.

From aboard Air Force One, the 79-year-old Trump also wished Lola a happy birthday, describing the Brazilian president as a “very strong man.”

“I was very impressed,” Trump said.

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Associated Press writer Christopher Megarian in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.