Trump and Lula Hold ‘Constructive’ Talks in Kuala Lumpur, Signal Thaw After Tariff Clash

US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a “great” and “constructive” meeting on Sunday during the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, signaling a possible thaw in relations after months of tension over steep US tariffs and political friction.

Lula said their countries’ teams would begin immediate negotiations to resolve the tariff dispute and address US sanctions against Brazilian officials.

“We agreed that our teams will meet immediately to advance the search for solutions to the tariffs and sanctions against Brazilian authorities,” Lula wrote on X after the meeting.

The encounter marked the first direct engagement between the two leaders since Trump quadrupled tariffs on most Brazilian imports in July, raising duties from 10 percent to 50 percent.

Trump’s administration linked the move to what he called a “witch hunt” against Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right ally and Trump supporter who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to overturn the 2022 election results.

Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Brazil’s capital after his defeat, in scenes reminiscent of the January 6 Capitol riot in Washington, D.C.

The US has since sanctioned several Brazilian officials, including Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over Bolsonaro’s trial.

Still, ahead of the meeting, Trump struck a conciliatory tone.

“I think we should be able to make some pretty good deals for both countries,” he told reporters.

Lula has repeatedly called the tariff hike a “mistake”, pointing to what he says is a $410 billion US trade surplus with Brazil over the past 15 years.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said talks would start “immediately” and that Brazil had requested a temporary suspension of tariffs while negotiations unfold, though Washington has not yet agreed.

“We hope to conclude bilateral negotiations that address each of the sectors of the current American tariffs on Brazil in the near future, in a few weeks,” Vieira said.

He added that Lula offered to mediate between the US and Venezuela, amid rising regional tensions over Trump’s military deployments in the Caribbean and threats of ground strikes against what Washington calls “narco-terrorist networks.”

Bolsonaro himself was not discussed in the Trump-Lula meeting, confirmed Marcio Rosa, executive secretary at Brazil’s Foreign Ministry.

The tariff spike has already begun to reshape global trade flows, driving up US beef prices and pushing some exports through third countries like Mexico to avoid penalties. Meanwhile, Brazil’s exports to China have surged, filling the gap left by lost US access.

For both Trump and Lula, Sunday’s meeting offered something rare amid turbulent politics, a moment of pragmatic diplomacy between two populists whose agendas, for once, may briefly align.