Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone for 80 minutes on Friday in their first direct contact since meeting at the White House in May, seeking to cool months of diplomatic friction between the two governments.
Lula, who initiated the call, told Trump that U.S. justifications for new tariffs on Brazilian goods were baseless and pushed for renewed commercial negotiations. Trump agreed on the need to preserve strong trade ties and proposed that delegations from both countries meet again as soon as possible. Washington imposed a 25% tariff on most Brazilian imports in mid-July and had earlier designated the country's two largest criminal factions, the PCC and the CV, as global terrorist organizations.
On security, Lula argued Brazil already has tools to fight organized crime without terrorist designations, while Trump pledged to deepen bilateral cooperation. The two also discussed the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, agreeing on the urgency of a negotiated settlement for the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Lula criticized the UN Security Council's inaction and proposed an extraordinary meeting to pursue diplomatic solutions.