President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he had a “positive” call with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked Trump to remove the 40% tax on Brazilian exports and the restrictions the U.S. put on local governments. The two leaders talked on the phone for 30 minutes earlier in the day and promised to meet in person “soon.” The statement added that the call was cordial.
According to the statement, Lula suggested a meeting during the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia and said he would be willing to go to the US. Brazil’s government said that both presidents gave each other their phone numbers so they could talk directly.
Fernando Haddad, Brazil’s finance minister, told reporters in Brasilia following the meeting that the call was “positive.” Geraldo Alckmin, the Vice President, and Mauro Vieira, the Foreign Minister, were also there.
Trump claimed last month that he wanted to meet with Lula after a brief meeting at the U.N. General Assembly in New York. He also remarked that they had “excellent chemistry.”
Brazilian markets have been eagerly watching the meeting between the two leaders as Brazil had to pay some of the highest tariffs in the world.
At first, Brazil had to pay a minimum duty of 10%, but Trump later boosted the rate to 40% on a number of important exports, making the total tax 50%.
Trump argued at the time that the tariffs were a retaliation to what he called a “witch hunt” against his ally, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro was eventually convicted to 27 years in prison for trying to mount a coup to stay in power after losing the 2022 elections to Lula.
The Trump administration used the Magnitsky Act to punish Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who was in charge of Bolsonaro’s case. It also took away the visas of six high-ranking officials, such as Jorge Messias, the Brazilian Solicitor-General.
Lula said at the U.N. General Assembly last month that there was no reason for Brazil’s institutions and economy to be targeted by one-sided and arbitrary actions without naming Trump.
This comes as Democrats are floundering.
A new national poll shows that most Democrats are dissatisfied with how their party’s lawmakers are performing in Congress.
According to a Quinnipiac University survey, 53% of Democratic respondents disapproved of congressional Democrats’ job performance, while only 41% expressed approval.
Among all voters surveyed between June 5–8, just 21% approved of how Democrats in Congress are handling their roles, with 70% voicing disapproval.
The 21% approval rating matches the figure from Quinnipiac’s February national poll, tying “an all-time low since Quinnipiac University first asked this question of registered voters in March 2009.”
In contrast, the survey shows that 79% of Republican voters approve of how congressional Republicans are performing, while 13% disapprove.
Among all voters, 32% approved of the job performance of congressional Republicans, while just over 60% expressed disapproval.
Overall approval for Republicans in Congress has declined by eight points since Quinnipiac’s February poll, with disapproval rising by nine points over the same period.
The Democratic Party has been in a state of political disarray since the November elections, when Republicans regained control of the White House and the Senate while holding on to their narrow majority in the House.
Adding to the setback, Republicans made inroads with key Democratic constituencies, including black, Hispanic, and younger voters.
Since President Donald Trump’s return to office earlier this year, an increasingly energized Democratic base has been pressuring party leaders to take a more forceful stance against the president’s sweeping and controversial agenda during the early months of his second term.
Frustration is not only aimed at Republicans, but also at fellow Democrats who are seen as too passive in their opposition.
This growing dissatisfaction has contributed to a sharp decline in the Democratic Party’s favorability ratings, which have reached historic lows in multiple polls over the past several months.