Brazil and the United States will soon reach a “definitive solution” to their trade dispute, said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday after his meeting with Donald Trump in Malaysia.
Lula met with Trump on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, before the U.S. president departed for Japan on Monday — the second stop of his Asian tour, which will conclude in South Korea, where he is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“I’m convinced that in a few days we will have a definitive solution between the United States and Brazil so that life remains good and cheerful,” Lula told reporters in Kuala Lumpur about Sunday’s trade talks with Trump.
The leaders of the two largest economies in the Americas met in the Malaysian capital during the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Lula and Trump discussed the U.S. decision to impose 50% tariffs on Brazilian products as retaliation for the 27-year prison sentence handed to former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, was convicted for attempting to block Lula’s inauguration and for plotting against the president’s life.
Lula, who turned 80 on Monday, said the issue was settled in his conversation with Trump, adding that “Bolsonaro is part of the past of Brazilian politics.”
“The meeting I had with President Trump was surprisingly good. If it depended on Trump and me, there will be a trade agreement between the two countries,” Lula said.
Source: SWI
