Rio De Janeiro, Oct 16 (IANS) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that Brazil and the United States will hold their formal bilateral meeting on Thursday to discuss additional tariffs imposed by Washington on Brazilian products.
The meeting on Wednesday (local time) follows a virtual conversation earlier this month between Lula and US President Donald Trump.
“Tomorrow we’ll have the negotiation talks,” Lula said during an event in Rio de Janeiro.
“Instead of chemistry, what emerged between us was petrochemistry,” he said, referring to Trump’s previous comment about their “excellent chemistry” after a brief encounter at the UN General Assembly in September.
Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Brazil will present strong economic arguments to reverse the 50 per cent tariff imposed by the United States on nearly 4,000 Brazilian products since August, reports Xinhua news agency.
Earlier on October 9, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira held a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss strengthening economic ties between the two countries.
Both sides agreed that government teams will meet soon in Washington — at a date yet to be determined — to follow up on bilateral trade and economic issues, in line with directives from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and US President Donald Trump.
The call followed Monday’s phone conversation between Lula and Trump, during which the Brazilian leader urged the removal of US tariffs on Brazilian products and the lifting of sanctions, including visa revocations affecting Brazilian officials.
Washington imposed an additional 50 per cent tariff on a range of Brazilian goods in August, a move that strained bilateral relations.
Rubio invited Vieira to join the upcoming delegation to facilitate an in-person meeting between them.
–IANS
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