Official meeting: Lula and Trump meet at the White House in a key election year for both

Lula looks for her re-election in October and Trump will face the midterm elections in November.

Lula, staying at the residence of the Brazilian ambassador to the United States, arrived at the White House shortly after 11:10 a.m. local time (12:10 p.m. in Argentina) aboard an official convoy.

President Trump welcomes President Lula of Brazil to the White House 🇺🇸🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/CyPfC2ENXn

— USA in Spanish (@USAenEspanol) May 7, 2026

The meeting is the first they have held in Washington in this new Trump administration, and the second they have held since they met in Malaysia last year. It coincides with Brazil’s criticism of the United States due to the war in Iran and the pressure on Cuba, as well as the mutual expulsion of two officials.

The agenda is marked by a strong economic component due to the investigations opened by the United States into alleged unfair trade practices in Brazil, particularly due to the use of the instant PIX payments, created by the Central Bank, which Washington considers harmful to the American companies Visa and Mastercard.

It also appears cooperation against international crime, given the possibility that the United States designates some Brazilian criminal groups as terrorist organizations, something that Brasilia opposes because it considers that it could open the door to possible interventions in its territory.

In addition, They are expected to address cooperation in critical minerals and rare earthsgiven that Brazil has the second largest reserves in the world, after China, and Washington seeks to diversify supply to undermine Beijing’s leadership.

The meeting takes place after Lula’s criticism of the operation to capture Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, the pressure on Cuba and the war in Iran, which threatens to cause a shortage of fertilizers in Brazil due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s second term began with tensions with Brazil, a country on which he imposed tariffs in retaliation for the judicial process against former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of the US president, sentenced to 27 years in prison for leading a coup against Lula.

The relationship was rekindled after a brief meeting during the General Assembly of the UN, in New York, and a bilateral meeting in Malaysia, in which both leaders showed harmony.

However, the link deteriorated again in recent days after Washington’s expulsion of a Brazilian police officer stationed in Miami, which led Brazil to withdraw the credentials of a US official in Brasilia.

In March, Brazil had already refused to grant a visa to an advisor linked to Trump who intended to visit Bolsonaro in prison.