WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will host Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday for talks about shared economic and security issues, a White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity about a meeting that has not been officially announced.
The leftist Lula and Trump have had an up-and-down relationship since the U.S. leader’s return to the White House last year.
Trump hit Brazil with steep tariffs and has pressed Brazilian authorities over their prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro for his involvement in a coup plot.
The Trump administration imposed a 40% tariff on Brazilian products in July on top of a 10% tariff hike earlier. The U.S. president justified the tariffs by saying that Brazil’s policies and criminal prosecution of Bolsonaro constituted an economic emergency.
But Trump later loosened tariffs on Brazil as part of his effort to lower consumer costs for Americans.
Recommended for you
Trump and Lula started mending fences at the United Nations’ General Assembly in September, which was followed by their first private meeting in Malaysia in October and subsequent phone conversations.
Bolsonaro was accused of masterminding a plot to stay in power despite his 2022 election loss to Lula — similar charges to what Trump faced after a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol in 2021 to stop Democrat Joe Biden from taking the White House.
Last month, Lula came to the defense of Pope Leo XIV during a tense exchange of attacks between the pontiff and Trump over the war in Iran.
The 80-year-old Lula is running for reelection in October.
The Brazilian paper O Globo first reported the planned trip by the Brazilian leader.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.