Overview
- The phone call, which took place on Friday, lasted about 1 hour and 20 minutes and was described by Brazil’s presidential office as 'amistoso e cordial'.
- Lula told President Trump the U.S. allegations that underlie the tariffs are unfounded and rejected classifying Brazilian criminal factions as terrorist organizations.
- Trump agreed teams from both governments should reconvene soon and said he would mobilize senior officials to follow up on cooperation and security matters.
- U.S. measures imposed in July include a 25% Section 301 surcharge and a 12.5% forced-labor-related duty that can combine to 37.5% on some products, and those levies were not lifted during the call.
- Brazil has opened a formal reciprocity process under its reciprocity law and kept WTO consultations active, meaning negotiations now run in parallel with legal and diplomatic options that could affect exporters and consumers.