(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Brazil opened negotiations in Washington on Thursday to defuse steep U.S. import duties that have pushed the effective tariff on many Brazilian goods to about 50 percent.

Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira is meeting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to set a roadmap after an October 6 call between Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump revived a channel that had been frozen.

The agenda is broader than tariffs alone. Brasília wants the United States to revisit recent Global Magnitsky sanctions on Brazilian judicial figures, including Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and his wife, arguing that accepting tariff relief while leaving those designations in place would undermine the government's sovereignty message at home.

The pairing turns a trade skirmish into a test of political boundaries between two large democracies. Coffee is the pressure point that makes this more than a niche dispute.

Brazil supplies roughly a third of U.S. coffee, and after the tariff shock, Brazilian shipments to the American market weakened while retail prices rose.



In the leaders' call, coffee costs reportedly surfaced directly-making the bean a likely bargaining chip if both sides want a quick, face-saving win that consumers will notice at supermarket shelves and cafés.

Politics sharpen the backdrop. In August, a planned conversation between Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and the U.S. Treasury was canceled amid Washington cross-currents, including lobbying by opposition figures in Brazil for harder U.S. measures.

Lula then moved to reset the tone, telling a Rio audience he was“optimistic” after speaking with Trump. Meanwhile, Brazil's development bank approved a R$1.6 billion ($302 million) line to cushion exporters.

Brasília is also exploring parallel cooperation with Washington on energy and critical minerals, with Mines and Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira invited to meet U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

What to watch next is sequencing. If the two sides can trade a partial tariff rollback for movement on sanctions-or craft sector carve-outs starting with coffee-relief could arrive within weeks.

If they split the issues or let domestic politics dominate, the fight could drag into 2026, keeping exporters on edge and U.S. consumers paying more for everyday staples.

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