Bolsonaro, Trump discuss bilateral trade package

With a view to bolstering the economic partnership between Brazil and the US, Presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump advised their negotiators to deepen talks preceding the possible signing of a package on bilateral trade. A deal may be signed this year, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry reported.

Bolsonaro and Trump met Saturday evening (Mar. 7) for dinner at a resort belonging to the US president himself in Palm Beach, Florida.

OECD

In a note released Sunday (8), the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations refers to the strengthening of joint efforts as “a strategic covenant.” Trump is said to have reiterated US support for Brazil’s admission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the OECD.

Standing alongside Bolsonaro during talks with journalists, Trump was asked whether the US could impose tariffs on goods imported from Brazil as a way to compensate for the negative impact a devalued real may make on US products. Trump said he could make no promises on the topic.

The two presidents also debated how to speed up Brazil’s participation in the Authorized Economic Operator, slated for 2021, which should boost trade between the two countries by ensuring security for imported goods.

On Twitter, the Brazilian president talked about the importance of “friendship ties” between the two countries. “I’m really happy to be friends with the US government,” he wrote.

Also on Twitter, chancellor Ernesto Araújo stated that presidential talks make it possible to “build a Brazil–US alliance for democracy, security, and prosperity.”

Latin America and the Middle East

According to the Foreign Ministry, Bolsonaro and Trump reiterated the support of their governments for self-proclaimed President of Venezuela Juan Guaidó as well as free and just elections in Bolivia, which should be held in May. The two heads of state also restated their commitment to peace and prosperity in the Middle East, as the Brazilian leader praised the US proposal to stimulate the peaceful coexistence between Israel and a Palestinian state.

Engagements

Bolsonaro is expected to remain in the US until Tuesday (10). He and part of his cabinet team visited the Southern Military Command, tasked with coordinating US military operations in the Caribbean as well as in Central and South America.