Overview

• After a brief backstage exchange of roughly half a minute, the two presidents agreed to speak next week by phone or video, which Brazil’s foreign minister said was requested by Lula.
• The United States maintains a 50% surcharge on selected Brazilian exports and Magnitsky-style sanctions on officials, including Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes and, this week, his wife Viviane Barci de Moraes.
• Brasília signals that a commercial agenda could include critical minerals and digital-platform regulation, while rejecting any U.S. demands touching Brazil’s judiciary or Bolsonaro’s conviction.
• In UN speeches, Lula defended sovereignty and multilateral solutions, and Trump both justified tariffs by citing concerns over speech on platforms and legal actions, and publicly praised Lula as a potential partner.
• Separately, after meeting Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump shifted tone on the war in Ukraine, calling Russia a “paper tiger” and saying Ukraine could reclaim its territory with European support, drawing notice in Brasília and beyond.