Lula says Brazil, U.S. to hold meeting to discuss Trump's new tariffs

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday that Brazil and the United States will hold their formal bilateral meeting on Thursday to discuss additional tariffs imposed by Washington on Brazilian products.

The meeting follows a virtual conversation earlier this month between Lula and U.S. President Donald Trump.

"Tomorrow we'll have the negotiation talks," Lula said during an event in Rio de Janeiro.

"Instead of chemistry, what emerged between us was petrochemistry," he said, referring to Trump's previous comment about their "excellent chemistry" after a brief encounter at the UN General Assembly in September.

Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said Brazil will present strong economic arguments to reverse the 50 percent tariff imposed by the United States on nearly 4,000 Brazilian products since August. ■