247 - Amid escalating trade and diplomatic tensions between Brazil and the United States, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Wednesday (30). During the meeting, the Brazilian chancellor was emphatic:"sovereignty is not negotiable," as reported by journalist Ricardo Abreu of Globonews. The statement reinforces the Brazilian government's position that any dialogue with the US should be limited to trade and tariff issues, without accepting interference in internal matters.

The meeting took place before the official announcement of the tariff hike imposed by President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order imposing a 50% tariff on Brazilian products such as meat and coffee. Even before the decree was signed, Brazil was already seeking diplomatic channels to reverse the trade hardship. Mauro Vieira, who was in New York for an event on Palestine at the UN, decided to extend his stay in the United States and traveled to Washington.

Vieira reaffirmed that Brazil is willing to negotiate only on trade issues. According to a report by Mariana Sanches in UOL, the foreign minister also emphasized to the American that the Brazilian judiciary is independent and that the government does not accept that the cases against former President Jair Bolsonaro are part of the bilateral agenda.

This was the first meeting between Mauro Vieira and Marco Rubio since Donald Trump resumed the presidency of the United States. The meeting had already been requested by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry two weeks ago, and a Brazilian emissary even explored the feasibility of the meeting during Vieira's stay in New York.