Brazil willing to negotiate, but US must open up: Lula

Reuters, Sputnik, Xinhua and AP

La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, July 25, 2025, p. 19

Sao Paulo, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday that his country is willing to negotiate with the United States if Donald Trump is also willing to do so.

Lula added at an event in the state of Minas Gerais, however, that Trump doesn't want to talk; otherwise, he would call me .

"Brazil is used to negotiating ," Lula commented. "We've already had 10 meetings with the United States. On May 16, we sent them a letter asking for clarification on the proposals we had made ."

They didn't respond directly, but rather through a website, Lula added, referring to Trump's post on his social media platform Truth Social on July 9, in which he announced he would impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian products.

For his part, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin explained that during a conversation with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Saturday, he reiterated Brazil's willingness to negotiate the tariffs proposed by the United States.

It was a long conversation, and I understand it's very important. It was good and fruitful. We discussed everything, emphasizing Brazil's interest in the negotiations , the official said at a press conference.

▲ President Donald Trump speaks to the press after touring the Federal Reserve construction site. The president is seeking to remove Jerome Powell for refusing to lower interest rates and blames him for cost overruns in the renovation of the Fed headquarters. Photo: AFP

La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, July 25, 2025, p. 19