Officials from both countries told AFP this week that talks are underway for a meeting between the two leaders at the regional summit of Southeast Asian nations (Asean) in Kuala Lumpur.

“I am very interested in having this meeting. I am fully prepared to defend Brazil’s interests and show that there was a mistake in the tariffs imposed on Brazil,” the leftist president told a news conference at the Asean headquarters in Jakarta.

He said the basis of Trump’s decision that their trade relationship was in favour of the South American giant was “untrue”.

Trump has instituted a 50% tariff on many Brazilian products and imposed sanctions on several top officials, including a Supreme Court judge, to punish Brazil for what he termed a “witch hunt” against former president Jair Bolsonaro.

In September, Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for his role in a botched coup bid after his 2022 election loss to Lula.

However, relations between Trump and Lula began to thaw when the two 79-year-old leaders had a brief meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September.

They then spoke by phone on Oct 6 and first raised the possibility of meeting at the Asean summit.

During that meeting, Lula asked Trump to lift the tariffs and sanctions.