Early this week, when Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s sudden trip to Washington was announced, Brasilia was rife with speculation over whether the visit had something to do with the upcoming elections. The buzz intensified when Flávio Bolsonaro, the presumptive far-right candidate, flew to Miami a day before Mr. Lula’s meeting with Donald Trump on Thursday (May 8, 2026).

While Flávio went to mingle with his allies of the American right, Lula arrived in Washington with important state matters on his agenda — tariffs, rare earth minerals and global conflicts. With ties between the two countries increasingly acrimonious, tension was palpable when Lula landed in Washington.

Red carpet welcome

But Mr. Trump received Mr. Lula warmly on a red carpet at the White House before they entered talks that stretched for three hours. Though no joint statement was issued after the meeting, both leaders released positive statements. Posting on his social media platform, Mr. Trump described the talks as “very good” and praised Lula as a “very dynamic” leader. Lula, too, called the talks an “important step” in bilateral relations. “I leave the meeting satisfied. I do not have a forbidden subject. The only thing we do not give up is our democracy and our sovereignty,” the Brazilian President said.

Tariffs were the first issue on the table. Last year, Mr. Trump had imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods. Fears of new sanctions have persisted as Washington recently opened a probe into Brazil’s digital payment platform PIX, often compared to India’s UPI system. But the meeting produced a breakthrough, with both sides agreeing to establish a working group on tariffs. Lula said he personally proposed the mechanism, which would bring together the groups of both countries to negotiate a solution within 30 days. “Whoever is wrong will yield. If we have to yield, we will yield,” Mr. Lula said in Washington.

Breathing room

According to Brazilian sources, the 30-day period will not only give Brasília some breathing room but also help prepare for another meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Lula at the G7 summit in France next month. “This time frame has been prepared with the G7 meeting in mind,” a Brazilian official said on condition of anonymity. “Now, we can expect intense discussions between the two sides and, if things go well, perhaps even an announcement at the G7 summit.”

The White House visit is already being seen as a win for Mr. Lula. While the two Presidents discussed tariffs and rare earth minerals, they avoided contentious issues such as PIX and the possible classification of Brazilian criminal factions as “terrorist” organisations — a proposal Mr. Trump has pushed for months. “Now Trump will think twice before taking decisions contrary to our interests. Lula having used the word ‘sovereignty’ repeatedly was essential,” said Celso Amorim, the Brazilian President’s special adviser on foreign policy.

But it was the discussion on rare-earth minerals that projected the real strategic purpose of Lula’s Washington visit. As Mr. Trump prepares for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week, Brazil has suddenly found itself at the centre of the growing competition between the U.S. and China. Home to the world’s second-largest reserves of critical minerals, Brazil is seen by the U.S. as a potential alternative to China in global supply chains.

American investments

In Washington, Lula resisted pressure to align Brazil exclusively with Washington on critical minerals, but he did not shut the door on American investments. “We have to follow these things more precisely. We have a lot of interest in the US investing again in Brazil,” Mr. Lula said. However, Mr. Lula made it clear that Brazil would not accept the old model of exporting raw wealth without domestic gains. “So, with rare earths, we are going to change our behavior. We want Brazil to be the great winner of this wealth that nature gave us.”

The rare-earth push is also part of Brazil’s attempt to position itself as a major global player, without ruffling feathers in China – its biggest trading partner and investor. A day before Mr. Lula’s trip, the Brazilian Congress passed a Bill creating a legal framework for critical minerals and rare earths. After Lula’s meeting with Mr. Trump, the government said the Bill could be approved by the Senate as early as this month. “I told President Trump about the law on critical minerals and also about the setting up of a Council which will treat the issue of critical minerals as a matter of national sovereignty,” Mr. Lula said after the meeting.

If Mr. Lula used rare earths to project Brazil’s global role, he was equally careful to protect his domestic turf. Despite intense speculation before the trip, Lula made sure that the country’s upcoming election did not feature in his chat with Mr. Trump. That was politically significant given the close ties between Mr. Trump and the Bolsonaro clan. As speculation persisted in the media, Lula denied he spoke about elections with Mr. Trump. “There is no possibility of me discussing this subject with any president. This is a Brazilian issue. They know that; they are presidents too,” Mr. Lula said.

The meeting in Washington was the third between Lula and Mr. Trump since the Republican leader returned to the White House in 2025. At their first encounter in September last year, Mr. Trump had remarked that the two leaders shared “excellent chemistry.” The latest meeting took place in a far more tense climate. But Brazilian analysts believe Lula emerged from Washington with a victory. “Many people thought that Lula would fall into some trap or that they would prepare an ambush, as happened with other heads of state, but none of that happened,” said Ricardo Kotscho, a prominent political commentator in Brazil. “From his arrival to the statements by President Trump and the photographs released, it shows that it was a great success and a diplomatic victory for Lula.”

Mr. Lula went to Washington just days before Trump’s high-stakes trip to Beijing. With the two leaders expected to meet again at the G7 Summit in June, the negotiations over tariffs and rare earths could only intensify in coming weeks.