Brazil's Lula Asks Trump To Remove Tariffs In 'Friendly' Call To Diffuse Tensions

After months of political acrimony, Brazilian President Lula da Silva spoke with US President Donald Trump for 30 minutes in a “friendly tone”, where the former reportedly requested the removal of steep tariffs imposed on Brazilian products and sanctions against Brazilian officials.

This marks the first-ever official talks between Trump and Lula after ties between Brazil and the United States were strained when the US president imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports and sanctions against several top officials to punish Brazil for a “witch hunt” against his far-right ally and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

The phone call came after what first appeared to be a chance encounter on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last month

that led Trump to hail his “excellent chemistry” with Lula. Reports said the run-in was actually the result of an intensive behind-the-scenes “diplomatic operation”.

During the phone call, Lula and Trump “recalled the good chemistry they had in New York,” as per the Brazilian presidency. They also exchanged phone numbers to establish direct communication.

Lula also raised the possibility of an in-person meeting with Trump at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia this month, and also reiterated an invitation to Trump to attend the COP-30 climate conference in Brazil’s Belem city in November.

“I consider our direct contact as an opportunity for the restoration of the 201-year friendly relations between the two largest democracies in the West. During the phone call, I recalled that Brazil is one of the three G20 countries with which the United States maintains a surplus in the balance of goods and services. I requested that President Trump remove the 40% surtax imposed on national products and the restrictive measures applied against Brazilian authorities,” said Lula on X.

Recebi, nesta manhã (6/10), telefonema do presidente Trump. Conversamos por 30 minutos e relembramos a boa química que tivemos no encontro em Nova York por ocasião da Assembleia Geral da ONU.

Considero nosso contato direto como uma oportunidade para a restauração das relações…

— Lula (@LulaOficial) October 6, 2025

“President Trump designated Secretary of State Marco Rubio to follow up on the negotiations with Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad.”

US-Brazil Relations

Tensions between the two countries came to the fore when Lula slammed an “unacceptable” attack on the independence of Brazil’s judiciary in his UN speech, while Trump accused Brazil of “censorship, repression and judicial corruption”.

Despite the political and economic pressure, Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for his role in a botched coup bid after his 2022 election loss to Lula. Lula has repeatedly stated that Brazil was “ready to negotiate” regarding tariffs, but complained of a rebuff from US authorities.

Last month, in an interview with BBC, Lula took a jibe at Trump, emphasising he had no relationship with the US President. He also said that Trump may be the President of the United States, but “he’s not emperor of the world”.

Lula, meanwhile, pointed out that his poor relations with the current US President were an exception as he had good relations with former US presidents, UK prime ministers, the EU, China, Ukraine, Venezuela and “all the countries in the world”.

(with inputs from agencies)