Trump and Lula's private Oval Office meeting signals effort to ease US-Brazil strain
Brazilian President Lula da Silva held a closed-door meeting with Donald Trump at the Oval Office in Washington. The two leaders covered tariffs, agricultural exports and regional security. The encounter was read as an attempt to de-escalate tensions strained by Bolsonaro's prison sentence.
Lula and Trump held a private 90-minute meeting at the White House. The tariff file covered steel and ethanol among other items. Brazil came to the table concerned about access to the US market for its annual 12-billion-dollar agricultural exports.
Sources said Trump declined to act on Bolsonaro's prison case despite Brazilian conservative pressure. Lula reiterated that Brazil's judiciary is independent. The two sides also voiced different positions on the US military deployment near Venezuela and the Caribbean. Brazil warned against unilateral operations in the region.
No joint press statement followed the meeting. Brazil's foreign ministry called the talks 'constructive.' A White House spokesperson said Trump gave Lula a one-month window to negotiate mutual concessions on farm trade. The real closed 0.6% stronger against the dollar.
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