Presidents Lula And Trump Agree To Meet Directly After Making Video Calls

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (Wikimedia Commons/Senado Federal)

JAKARTA - Brazilian President Luiz Inbowo Lula da Silva and United States President Donald Trump agreed to meet face-to-face, immediately after a friendly video call on Monday, the Brazilian government said.

This good news raises prospects for improving bilateral relations at their worst point in decades.

During the 30-minute phone call the two leaders discussed their positive impression of a brief meeting at the United Nations last month and exchanged phone numbers to open direct communication lines, President Lula's office said.

Meanwhile, President Trump in a post on social media wrote the phone call was "very good," focusing on economic relations and trade between the two countries.

"We will hold further discussions, and will meet in the near future, both in Brazil and the United States," he wrote.

President Lula himself suggested a meeting during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit this month in Malaysia and expressed his willingness to visit the United States, his office said.

It is known that the two leaders had been at odds for months over the trial and verdict of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.

President Trump has raised fares for many Brazilian goods from 10 percent to 50 percent as the case, which he calls a "witch hunt".

President Lula's office did not mention Bolsonaro in the summary of the phone call, but noted Brazilian President had asked President Trump to remove an additional 40 percent tariff.

The rate has triggered a drop in Brazilian coffee exports to the US by 70 percent, as well as drastically reducing Brazilian beef shipments.

The price of coffee in the US, which traditionally relies on Brazil for a third of its coffee beans supply, has risen sharply mostly due to the tariff, which forces coffee roasters to buy more expensive coffee elsewhere.

President Trump appointed Foreign Minister Marco Rubio to continue tariff negotiations with Brazil's Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Mauro Vieira Foreign Minister and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, added the Brazilian statement.

The meeting of the two leaders has been awaited by the Brazilian market after the country's exports experienced one of the highest tariffs imposed by the United States.