Can the US and Brazil Find Common Ground?

For months, relations between President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have been tense, punctuated by the United States’ imposition of tariffs and sanctions. But the leaders’ recent interaction at the United Nations General Assembly has inspired warmer rhetoric and hopes for a thaw in bilateral relations. Both the US and Brazil stand to gain from closer cooperation, particularly in energy, trade, and security. Yet significant obstacles remain: Brazil’s deepening economic ties with China, its prominent role in BRICS (an organization of states that also includes Russia, India, China, and South Africa), ongoing disputes over digital governance and free speech regulation, and divergent approaches to regional and global challenges. Can recent diplomatic overtures translate into meaningful progress?

Join Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle and an expert panel as they assess whether current political dynamics could allow two of the Western Hemisphere’s largest powers to forge a more constructive partnership, and what it would take to bridge their considerable differences.