President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will meet with President Donald Trump this Thursday (May 7) at the White House in Washington, D.C. Trade and the fight against organized crime will be the main topics of the meeting. The Brazilian government will use the opportunity to highlight its efforts to combat criminal organizations.

Last month, Brazil and the United States announced a cooperation agreement aimed at combating international arms and drug trafficking.

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The partnership provides for the sharing of information on seizures made at customs in both countries in order to enable swift investigations into patterns, routes, and links between senders and recipients of illicit goods.

Other topics may arise during the working meeting, including geopolitics and the extraction of rare earths and critical minerals.

The meeting had been under discussion by the two presidents’ teams and was finalized a few days ago. Lula’s trip is initially intended solely for the meeting with Donald Trump.

The presidential delegation includes Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira; Justice and Public Security Minister Wellington César; Finance Minister Dario Durigan; Development, Industry, Trade, and Services Minister Márcio Elias Rosa; Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira; and Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues.

Bilateral relations

In an interview with the public media outlets of Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC), Finance Minister Dario Durigan said he expects the trip to the US to help normalize relations between the two countries despite opposition efforts to undermine them.

“My expectation is that we continue to normalize bilateral relations with the United States. We cannot allow outside forces, which even work against the country, to keep creating problems for the Brazilian people,” said Durigan.

The minister reiterated that, in the meeting with US officials, the Brazilian government will state that it will implement reciprocal measures should the United States impose tariffs on Brazil for political reasons.

He also said that the Brazilian government will reaffirm its willingness to continue cooperating in the fight against organized crime, as it has always done.