Roughly a month after imposing extra tariffs that add up to 37.5% on Brazilian goods, the United States signaled on Monday (Aug 31) a new willingness to talk. In a virtual meeting between Brasília and Washington, Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative who leads trade negotiations for Washington, told Brazilian ministers that President Donald Trump had "directed and ordered" his team to pursue an agreement with the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, according to Industry and Trade Minister Márcio Elias Rosa.

"We both recognized that we are facing a new scenario, new bases for working toward this agreement," Rosa told journalists at his ministry in Brasília. Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira also took part in the meeting, along with other officials from both governments. Folha de S.Paulo reported that the talks produced no concrete advances, and no specific sectors or concessions were discussed.

What it means for Brazil

The shift in tone matters directly to Brazilian exporters, who now pay more to sell into the US market. Until July, the talks were aimed at preventing the tariffs from taking effect. Now that the measures are in force, Brasília argues the tariff relationship is tilted in Washington's favor, as Rosa himself put it:

"Today, the truth is that with the 37.5% in place, we have an even greater imbalance in their favor. Any concession from Brazil would only increase the deficit for Brazil."

The two sides remain far apart on the substance. According to G1, Globo's news portal, the United States applied a 25% additional tariff after investigations under Section 301 of US trade law, which allows unilateral penalties, on the claim that Brazil adopts unfair practices against American companies in six sectors, including Pix, the country's instant payment system, as well as deforestation, intellectual property and ethanol. Another 12.5% was added on the argument that dozens of countries, Brazil among them, failed to ban or police imports of goods produced with forced labor. In a joint statement, Brazil's ministries of Foreign Affairs and Industry said the country "does not agree with the unilateral measures," which are incompatible with multilateral trade rules, and that the Section 301 findings "do not correspond to actual Brazilian practices," calling the treatment unjust and discriminatory. Brazil has also taken the dispute to the World Trade Organization.

What comes next

Technical teams from both countries are expected to meet again in the coming days, and further talks, virtual and in person, are planned for the coming weeks, according to the ministries' joint statement. Monday's conversation was arranged after a phone call between Lula and Trump on Aug 21, in which the Brazilian president called the justifications presented by the Office of the US Trade Representative, or USTR, for the tariffs "unfounded."

Rosa said he remains optimistic. In his reading, after the presidents' call, "there does appear to be a clear orientation from the American government toward an agreement with Brazil. An agreement that rebalances the relationship and tariff policy." G1 also reported that Brazilian diplomats privately do not expect the WTO case alone to reverse the tariffs; for the government, the most concrete result of Monday's meeting was the formal resumption of dialogue. "Today, the good news is: we have resumed dialogue toward a negotiation. That is very important," the minister said.