Photo: MDIC.
Brazil and the United States agreed to create a working group on trade after senior officials met on September 30 in Milwaukee. Brazil’s foreign minister Mauro Vieira and trade minister Márcio Elias Rosa met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the G20 trade ministers’ meeting, according to Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC).
The ministry said the U.S. would send a proposal in the following weeks outlining the scope of work, including tariff and non-tariff questions. Both governments expressed willingness to work toward an understanding, but neither announced a deal, a timeline for lifting duties or any immediate change to market access. Reuters independently reported the working-group decision and described the meeting as part of a broader bilateral engagement that followed a phone call between Presidents Donald Trump and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in August.
The negotiations took place against a tariff dispute. Reuters reported that Washington had announced in July a 25% tariff on some Brazilian goods, alongside an additional 12.5% tariff tied to allegations concerning enforcement of forced-labor bans. Brazil had considered its reciprocity law as a possible response, but Lula said the government did not intend to invoke it while talks were underway.
For Brazilian exporters, the talks could shape costs and access in a major trading relationship. For policymakers, they test whether direct negotiation can ease tensions without escalating retaliation. The next measurable step is the U.S. proposal describing the group’s mandate. Until that document is made public and the parties set out concrete terms, the September announcement represents a negotiating channel, not a trade agreement.