The presidents of the United States and Brazil, Donald Trump and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, met this Sunday in Malaysia and agreed to immediately begin negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement, although the 50% tariffs imposed by Washington on Brazilian imports remain in place for now.
The bilateral meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, lasted approximately 50 minutes and concluded with encouraging signals from both sides.
“I had an excellent meeting with President Trump this Sunday afternoon in Malaysia. We spoke frankly and constructively about the bilateral trade and economic agenda,” Lula explained on his account on the social network X. “We have agreed that our teams will meet immediately to move forward in finding solutions to the tariffs and sanctions against Brazilian authorities,” he added.
I had a great meeting with President Trump this Sunday afternoon in Malaysia. We discussed the bilateral trade and economic agenda in a frank and constructive manner. We agree that our teams will meet immediately to move forward in the search for solutions for the rates and as…
— Lula (@LulaOficial) October 26, 2025
Trump had sounded optimistic before the meeting began. “It’s a great honor to be with the president of Brazil, a great country. I think we can reach very good agreements for both countries. We’ve always had a good relationship, and I think it will continue that way,” the U.S. president said.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said after the meeting that Lula “reiterated the request to suspend the tariffs imposed on Brazilian exports during the negotiation period.” Vieira described the meeting as “optimal” and emphasized that Trump “declared that he would instruct his team to begin negotiations today, because he hopes this will be resolved very quickly.”
The Brazilian foreign minister described the dialogue as “relaxed” and “very joyful”, and revealed that “ Trump stated that he admires the profile of President Lula’s political career and his two terms as president after being persecuted in Brazil and having proven his innocence to obtain a third term,” in reference to the corruption cases for which the Brazilian leader was investigated.
The meeting came at a time of heightened trade tensions between the two nations. The United States imposed the 50% tariffs after former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for trying to prevent Lula from taking office after the 2022 election. Bolsonaro, a personal friend of Trump, was found guilty by Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who now faces US sanctions under the Magnitsky Act.
During the meeting, Lula also asked Trump to suspend the application of this law against Judge Moraes, his wife, and other Brazilian citizens. The legislation allows the U.S. government to sanction individuals it considers linked to human rights violations or corruption.
In an awkward moment during pre-meeting remarks, Trump praised Bolsonaro in front of Lula."I've always liked him. I feel really bad about what happened to him," the US president said, while the Brazilian leader grew impatient. However, when asked if he would discuss the former Brazilian president with Lula, Trump replied:"It's none of your business."
The meeting has significant economic implications. China has stopped buying soybeans from the United States due to the trade war and has chosen Brazil as its main supplier. Brazil's soybean exports are expected to reach 102.2 million tons by the end of October, exceeding the annual volumes for 2024 and 2023.
Vieira said the tariff measure “is not fair,” since Brazil has a trade deficit with the United States.
The meeting marks a turning point in relations between the two leaders. Trump and Lula met in September during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where they said they had “good chemistry.” In early October, the two spoke for about 30 minutes by phone in a conversation described as “friendly,” during which the Brazilian leader proposed meeting in Malaysia.
Lula was accompanied at the meeting by Minister Vieira, Márcio Elias Rosa of the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, and Audo Faleiro, a diplomat on the team of Special Presidential Advisor Celso Amorim. Representing the U.S. were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Before the meeting, Lula had been in Kuala Lumpur since Saturday, when he met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, after a trip to Indonesia, seeking trade agreements to mitigate the impact of US tariffs.
Trump participated alone in ASEAN meetings on Sunday and will head to Japan on Monday before traveling to South Korea for additional meetings, including a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
