Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, urged U.S. president Donald Trump to scrap tariffs on his country’s imports and sanctions against its officials during a video call October 6 described by Brazil as “friendly.” 

The Guardian reports that ties between the U.S. and Brazil have nosedived as a result of Trump’s campaign to pressure Brazilian authorities into abandoning the coup trial of his far-right ally, Jair Bolsonaro.

The U.S. introduced 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports in August, in an unsuccessful attempt to halt what Trump called the “witch-hunt” against Brazil’s former president, who was accused of trying to overturn the results of a 2022 election that handed power to Lula.

Bolsonaro was convicted and sentenced to 27 years in prison by the supreme court on September 11.

The October 6 video call between Trump and Lula their first extended conversation since the former returned to the White House in January. “It was positive,” Brazil’s finance minister, Fernando Haddad, who also took part in the half-hour call, told reporters afterward.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump celebrated “a very good” exchange, adding: “I enjoyed the call – Our Countries will do very well together!”

BBC News reported that Lula requested that tariffs on U.S. imports from Brazil be reduced to their original 10%, and sanctions on some Brazilian officials be removed. The two exchanged phone numbers to keep in touch directly.