Brazil’s Lula to call Trump if tariff talks stall, pushes against conflict in Venezuela

BELEM, Brazil (AP) – Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday he will call Donald Trump if negotiations on U.S tariffs do not make progress in the near future.

The U.S. government has increased tariffs on many Brazilian goods by more than 50%, but Lula and Trump have spoken about reaching a deal during a meeting in Malaysia in October.

“I have his number, he has mine. I have no trouble in calling him,” Lula told reporters ahead of the United Nations’ climate summit known as COP. Its 30th edition starts this week in Belem, a Brazilian city in the heart of the Amazon.

“When COP30 ends, if a meeting between my negotiators and his is not yet scheduled, I’ll call Trump again,” said the Brazilian leader, who added Lula said his main negotiators, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, are keen to discuss.

Lula also urged Latin American to help avoid a conflict in Venezuela as the Trump administration orders military action against vessels allegedly linked to drug cartels.

The veteran leader said he is considering attending a meeting in Colombia next week of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, a body 33 of members, at which U.S. military action in the region will be in discussed.

Trump’s military operations in the Caribbean have killed dozens of people who he accuses of being members of a drug cartel led by Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro denies the accusations, which he claims to be an excuse for American military action in the region.

“I told Trump that Latin America is a region of peace,” Lula added. “I don’t want us to reach the point of a U.S. ground invasion of Venezuela.”

The Brazilian leader said he also urged his American counterpart to listen to former U.S. President George W. Bush, who took part in discussions to pacify Venezuela after a coup attempt against then Venezuela President Hugo Chávez in 2002.