Lula and Trump Set 30-Day Deadline to Resolve Brazil Tariff Dispute
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and US President Donald Trump met at the White House on May 7 for more than three hours, including a working lunch, and ordered both economic teams to deliver a proposal within 30 days to resolve the bilateral tariff dispute and the Section 301 trade investigation.
Trump described the encounter as “very productive” and called Lula a “very dynamic president” on social media, while Lula handed Trump a list of Brazilian officials still under US visa restrictions including Supreme Court justices, Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet, and the 10-year-old daughter of Health Minister Alexandre Padilha. The Brazilian delegation returns to Brasília on Friday, May 8.
Key Points
— Three-hour meeting plus lunch at White House on May 7; second formal Lula-Trump encounter since Malaysia in October 2025.
— Outcome: 30-day working-group deadline to draft tariff and Section 301 proposal.
— Brazil registered US$14B trade deficit with US in last reported year; reversed 15-year US surplus pattern.
— Topics: trade, organized crime, critical minerals, rare earths, UN reform.
— Brazil’s rare-earth reserves: 21M tons, world’s second largest after China’s 44M tons.
The Tariff Working Group
The Rio Times, the Latin American financial news outlet, reports that Lula proposed and Trump accepted the creation of a bilateral working group with a 30-day deadline to draft a tariff and Section 301 proposal, with both presidents expected to sign off on the team-level recommendations. Lula said he proposed letting Brazil’s Industry and Commerce Ministry team sit with the US Trade Minister for 30 days to present a proposal both leaders could approve, on the principle that “whoever is wrong will yield”. The Brazilian government continues to reject the legitimacy of unilateral US instruments such as Section 301 as inconsistent with World Trade Organization rules, and Lula said he asked Trump directly to close the Section 301 investigation as soon as possible.
The Brazilian delegation included Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira, Justice and Public Security Minister Wellington Lima e Silva, Finance Minister Dario Durigan, Industry and Commerce Minister Márcio Elias Rosa, Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira, and Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues. The US side included Vice President JD Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The deal architecture matches Trump’s recent pattern of bilateral working-level negotiations rather than multilateral frameworks.
Tariff Background
The bilateral commercial relationship has been strained since 2025 when Trump initiated 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, with Brazil among the most affected suppliers, while April 2026 added tariffs on a wider basket of products citing “lack of commercial reciprocity”. Brazil filed at the WTO and adopted reciprocity legislation, and late 2025/early 2026 saw a partial US rollback with product exclusions and substitution of the broader tariffs by a 10% global rate (steel and aluminum still elevated). The May 7 working-group structure now gives both sides a face-saving 30-day path.
Critical Minerals and Rare Earths
Critical minerals and rare earths emerged as a strategic priority on the agenda, with Lula informing Trump that Brazil’s Lower House had approved on May 6 the National Critical and Strategic Minerals Policy (PNMCE), which establishes a council to define which minerals qualify as critical and strategic for Brazil. Brazil’s mapped rare-earth reserves stand at approximately 21 million tons (the world’s second largest after China’s 44 million tons), with only 25% of Brazilian territory mapped to date, while late April saw US Rare Earth announce the US$2.8 billion acquisition of Brazilian Serra Verde. Lula emphasized the country wants to add value domestically rather than export raw, citing previous extraction-based losses with silver, gold, and iron ore.
Organized-crime cooperation also featured prominently, with Lula announcing Brazil will launch a comprehensive plan against transnational criminal organizations the following week and confirming a US-Brazil joint financial-asphyxiation track agreed with Trump. Finance Minister Durigan said Receita Federal teams and US counterparts will conduct joint operations against arms and synthetic-drug trafficking flowing in both directions. Lula also pushed UN Security Council reform and reiterated Brazil’s interest in a permanent seat.
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | May 7, 2026 (Lula arrived ~12:21 BRT) |
| Duration | ~3 hours, including working lunch |
| Outcome | 30-day tariff/Section 301 working group |
| Brazil delegation | 6 ministers + PF Director-General |
| US delegation | VP Vance, Wiles, Bessent, Greer, Lutnick |
| Steel/aluminum tariff | 25% (still elevated post-April rollback) |
| Global tariff (post-rollback) | ~10% temporary rate |
| Brazil rare-earth reserves | ~21M tons (#2 globally) |
| Brazil-US trade deficit | US$14B (last reported year) |
Connected Coverage
For broader Latin American trade and Brazilian capital-markets context, see our coverage of Tecnoglass Q1 record results despite the new 10% US tariff impact and our analysis of Enter becoming Latin America’s first AI unicorn at US$1.2 billion with Founders Fund backing.
What Happens Next
- May 8, 2026: Brazilian delegation returns to Brasília Friday morning.
- Next week: Lula launches comprehensive transnational organized-crime plan.
- Around June 6, 2026: Working-group 30-day deadline for tariff and Section 301 proposal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Lula and Trump agree?
Lula and Trump agreed on May 7 to set up a bilateral working group with a 30-day deadline to draft a proposal resolving the tariff dispute and the US Section 301 trade investigation against Brazil. The group will be led by Brazil’s Industry and Commerce Minister Márcio Elias Rosa and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, with both presidents reviewing the team-level recommendations. Lula directly asked Trump to close the Section 301 investigation as soon as possible, while Brazil maintains unilateral US instruments are inconsistent with WTO rules.
Who attended the meeting?
The Brazilian delegation included Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira, Justice and Public Security Minister Wellington Lima e Silva, Finance Minister Dario Durigan, Industry and Commerce Minister Márcio Elias Rosa, Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira, and Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues. The US side included Vice President JD Vance, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The encounter was the second formal Lula-Trump meeting since their October 2025 Malaysia bilateral.
What about critical minerals?
Critical minerals and rare earths emerged as a strategic priority, with Lula informing Trump that Brazil’s Lower House had approved on May 6 the National Critical and Strategic Minerals Policy (PNMCE) creating a council to define which minerals qualify as strategic. Brazil’s mapped rare-earth reserves total approximately 21 million tons, the world’s second largest after China’s 44 million tons, with only 25% of Brazilian territory mapped. Late April saw US Rare Earth announce the US$2.8 billion acquisition of Brazilian Serra Verde.
What about the visa restrictions?
Lula gave Trump a list of Brazilian officials and family members still under US visa restrictions, including Supreme Court justices, Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet, and the 10-year-old daughter of Health Minister Alexandre Padilha. The visa sanctions were imposed as US retaliation for the Brazilian Supreme Court’s handling of the coup-attempt trial against former president Jair Bolsonaro and the January 8, 2023 events. Lula said part of the suspensions had already been reversed, and pledged to keep raising the remaining cases until Trump addresses them.
Updated: 2026-05-08T07:00:00Z by Rio Times Editorial Desk
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