Brazil's Lula to Meet Trump

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will discuss cooperation on the fight against organized crime and tariffs with President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House on Thursday. Brazil’s finance minister Dario Durigan said the goal is to protect Brazil’s population, prioritize the country and maintain constructive dialogue.

Expectations for the trip are very positive, Durigan told state broadcaster EBC on Wednesday. The encounter follows a crisis in bilateral relations last year after the Trump administration imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods. That measure was tied to the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro for his involvement in a coup plot.

Lula sharply defended Brazil’s sovereignty at the time, after which Trump loosened the tariffs as part of an effort to lower consumer costs for Americans. The two leaders began mending relations at the United Nations General Assembly in September. This was followed by their first private meeting in Malaysia in October and subsequent phone conversations.

An ongoing point of contention is the Trump administration’s reported consideration of designating Brazil’s largest criminal factions, the Red Command and the First Capital Command, as foreign terrorist organizations. Such a designation would give the United States more power to act as a political or economic actor in Brazil, according to an international relations professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

A Brazilian government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said both sides appeared committed to deepening cooperation on fighting organized crime rather than opting for unilateral actions.

Brazil’s rare earth deposits is also likely to feature in the discussions. The South American country holds the world’s second-largest reserves of the minerals, which are used in smartphones, electric vehicles, solar panels and jet engines. Durigan reiterated that Brazil does not want to serve simply as a raw material exporter.

"Countries in the global north ... are thirsty for this raw material," Durigan said. He added that while foreign investment is welcome, the country wants industrial development within Brazil, including job creation in partnership with universities. The Brazilian government’s handling of last year’s 50% tariff likely raised the country’s leverage with the Trump administration, an international relations professor at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro told The Washington Times.

The professor said the Trump administration likely sees Brazil as a partner that must be taken somewhat seriously but will continue to pressure it to make concessions.

The trip occurs amid a difficult domestic situation for the 80-year-old leader. Last week, Brazil’s lower house overrode his veto on a law seeking to reduce Bolsonaro’s time in prison. The Senate also rejected his nomination to the Supreme Court, a first in more than 100 years.

Lula will seek a fourth, nonconsecutive term in the October elections. Polls currently show him neck and neck with Bolsonaro’s Senator son, Flávio. Lula departed for Washington early afternoon local time Wednesday and is expected to arrive in the evening.

" — Dario Durigan, Brazil’s finance minister, May 6, 2026 (The Washington Times) The meeting represents an effort to stabilize ties strained by last year’s tariff dispute while addressing shared concerns over criminal organizations that operate across borders.

Brazilian officials have signaled openness to collaboration on law enforcement but resistance to measures that could expand unilateral U.S. authority inside Brazil.