President Donald Trump’s meeting with his Brazilian counterpart on Tuesday opens the door for a new alliance and deepening trade relationship that the administration says will dramatically reshape the power dynamics of the hemisphere.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who tweeted about his pro-American views on his way to Washington, will meet with Trump in the Oval Office before taking part in a joint press conference.
“The U.S.-Brazil relationship has always been one of potential, but yet it always seemed that that potential has never been met,” a senior administration official said. “This time, it is different.”
The senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, touted a “historic remaking” of a partnership for domestic, regional, and foreign policy priorities between the two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere.
The Trump administration will use the opportunity to announce its intent to give Brazil the status of major non-NATO ally, a preferential distinction that brings with it a higher level of strategic cooperation, according to two sources familiar with the plan.
It would be a significant step in Latin America, making Brazil only the second country in that region, after Argentina, to receive the status that just 17 countries have.
‘Tariffs suck’: Some Republicans privately celebrate as Supreme Court blocks Trump policy
Trump responds to Supreme Court ruling rejecting sweeping tariffs powers: ‘A disgrace’
BREAKING: Trump Reportedly Rips Supreme Court Tariff Ruling as a ‘Disgrace’ – He Has Plan B
GOP Politician’s Vehicle Shot up, Home Targeted as Leftists Continue to Scream False Charges of Fascism, Racism, and Nazism
Multiple suspects are possible in Nancy Guthrie’s abduction
DHS says 8% of Nicaragua’s entire population illegally entered US under Biden
NORAD scrambles jets to intercept Russian bombers near Alaska
Husband of Ohio teacher charged with wife’s murder days after she was found dead in home
Hollywood Reporter All But Admits Network Hosts Would End All Political Interviews Before Platforming Critics of Democrats
Foreign agents pump large amounts of cash into campaigns ahead of 2026 elections
Illinois lieutenant governor seeking US Senate seat releases video of people saying ‘F— Trump’
Hollywood Legend Becomes Latest Billionaire to Flee California
The Golden Girls: US Women Thrive on the Ice at the Winter Olympics
Report: CNN’s Jake Tapper Is Getting Blamed For a New Network Policy, And He’s Not Happy About It
Ex-Victoria’s Secret CEO’s lawyer caught on hot mic jokingly threatening to ‘kill’ him at Epstein deposition
“It speaks volumes to say that we’re now there and that the Brazilians are aligned, the United States is aligned and now our militaries in many ways will be aligned,” said Fernando Cutz, who served as a senior director at the National Security Council in the Trump administration until last year.
Bolsonaro, who repeatedly invoked Trump’s name during his campaign, is sometimes referred to as the “Trump of the Tropics.” That caught Trump’s attention.
Within an hour of being confirmed, Bolsonaro received a congratulatory call from Trump who committed to working side-by-side on issues of importance to the two countries.
A couple of weeks later, National Security Advisor John Bolton went to Rio de Janeiro to visit the new president. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo led a delegation to Bolsonaro’s inauguration.
“He was unabashedly — and particularly in Brazil — unabashedly pro-American,” the senior administration official said of Bolsonaro. “He ran on the campaign that he wanted to be the best friend to the United States, that he wanted to have this close relationship with President Trump and what that would mean for Brazil, what that would mean for the region and the world. I think that was very important.”
Brazilian officials are expected to discuss meat, sugar and ethanol trade with the United States.
Trump has already embraced Bolsonaro as a “like-minded leader” despite the Brazilian leader’s “flamboyant disregard for human rights and democratic norms,” said Benjamin Gedan, who was National Security Council director for South America during the Obama administration.
But it remains unclear how willing Trump will be to further open up U.S. markets to Brazil.
“Given Trump’s protectionism, this visit will test just how far foreign leaders can get through flattery,” Gedan said.
The senior administration official said the United States has a trade surplus with Brazil of about $27 billion, but officials see opportunities for “deepening our trade relationship.”
“We want to move forward. You know, these are two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere,” the official said. “There’s a lot of things that we do and we share and we produce in common, but there’s also a lot of things from where there’s a comparative advantage.”
Story cited here,
