Trump and Lula Discuss Trade in Malaysia

President Donald Trump met with Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Malaysia to explore potential trade agreements.

This meeting took place following the ASEAN – United States Summit. Both leaders appeared friendly as they fielded questions from reporters prior to their discussion.

Lula expressed interest in negotiating a reduction of the 50% tariff on Brazilian imports that Trump set on August 1. Trump, however, raised concerns about Brazil’s treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a close ally of his, who is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence for conspiracy related to a coup.

“I think we’ll make a deal with Brazil. We get along very well,” Trump remarked, adding after some interruptions from the media, “let me just say, it’s a great honor to be with the president of Brazil. It’s a great country. It’s a big, beautiful country.”

He underscored his belief that the positive relations between the U.S. and Brazil would persist.

“We have a lot of respect for your president and for Brazil. We’ll see. We’ll probably work out some deals,” Trump mentioned while indicating to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Lula shared that he had a written agenda prepared for their discussion, already translated into English, which they might review if time allowed.

Trump seemed confident that an agreement could be reached promptly, stating, “We know each other. We know what each other wants. I think we’ll come to a conclusion.” He added that they might find out within “probably 15 minutes” how things would proceed.

When pressed about Bolsonaro, Trump expressed sympathy for the situation but was dismissive, replying, “none of your business.”