UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to meet next week with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, adding that they had “excellent chemistry” during a brief encounter at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
Trump said that he and Lula spoke briefly and embraced after the Brazilian leader addressed the Assembly. The two leaders have been at odds for months over the trial and conviction of Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.
“We had a good talk, and we agreed to meet next week,” Trump said. “He seemed like a very nice man … At least for about 39 seconds, we had excellent chemistry,” he added. “It’s a good sign.”
Trump’s remarks lifted Brazilian markets. The real currency firming around 1% against the U.S. dollar and the benchmark Bovespa stock index rose more than 1% to an all-time high.
Brazil’s presidency later confirmed the possibility of a conversation between the leaders next week.
In his remarks to the General Assembly, Lula delivered a stern rebuke of U.S. foreign policy.
He criticized the Trump administration for imposing tariffs, visa restrictions and financial sanctions in response to Bolsonaro’s trial and conviction for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election.
Trump in August imposed a 50% tariff on U.S. imports of many Brazilian goods to fight what he has called a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup to stay in power.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago and Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo, Editing by Franklin Paul, Brad Haynes and Kevin Liffey)
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