Trump-Lula private Oval Office meeting eases bilateral tensions
US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Lula da Silva met behind closed doors in the Oval Office. Both leaders agreed to pause planned ethanol tariff escalations and to revisit Amazon investment talks. Bilateral trade tensions may ease for now.
The meeting lasted about 70 minutes and was not announced in advance. According to the Brazilian government, Lula confirmed that Washington's planned 18 percent additional tariff on Brazilian ethanol has been suspended. In return, Brasília gave a green light to US firms bidding on lithium and rare-earth concessions in the country.
The US side said a 500-million-dollar joint fund to fight Amazon wildfires would be revisited. Trump told reporters the talks 'went well.' Lula said the reopening of Mercosur-US dialogue mattered, especially against the backdrop of the Iran crisis dominating the global agenda.
The encounter follows Brazil's January expansion of its yuan-based trade agreement with China. The real strengthened 1.4 percent against the dollar after the readout. The Ibovespa gained 0.9 percent. Investors said a durable tariff truce would support Latin American sovereign bonds.
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