Jakarta. Brazilian President Lula da Silva met with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn in Jakarta on Friday for trade talks as the Latin American nation navigates the hefty US tariffs.

Lula, who had just unveiled his plans for a fourth term, wrapped up a three-day Jakarta trip with a visit to the ASEAN headquarters. As tariff wars continue to ignite global uncertainties, Brazil looks to diversify its trade relations, including with the Southeast Asian grouping. Brazil officially became a sectoral dialogue partner to the ten-member group in 2022. While the Kao-Lula talks were not open to press coverage, the ASEAN Secretariat confirmed that trade was among the subject matters.

“The discussions highlighted cooperation in key areas such as energy, food security, and people-to-people exchanges, and underscored shared priorities, notably in promoting trade and investment,” the secretariat said.

Later that day, Lula acknowledged how important export diversification was to the country’s economy, which reached an all-time high in Q2 2025. 

“The more trade we have, the stronger our relationship with these countries. The better it is for Brazil,” Lula told the press.

“We need to strengthen multilateralism, and the institutions that guarantee multilateralism. So we can have a stronger economy, less protectionism, and freer trade.”

Lula is set to jet off to the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur soon, where he will be in the same room as his American counterpart, Donald Trump. A pull-aside meeting between the two is likely to take place, with Lula saying that “Brazil is ready to sit and negotiate”. That includes showing Trump that there are some “mistakes” in the tariff hikes imposed on Brazil, according to the leftist leader. Trump has charged 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian goods, partly as a result of what he called a “witch hunt” against his ally and former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil reported that its trade with ASEAN had soared twelvefold from $3 billion in 2022 to $37 billion in 2024. This put the bloc as the country’s fifth-largest trading partner in the world. 

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, is currently exploring the possibility of a free trade agreement with the Brazil-led South American bloc, Mercosur. Official statistics showed that Indonesia-Brazil trade totaled almost $4.4 billion in the first eight months of 2025.

The ASEAN Summit is set to take place on Oct. 26-28. President Prabowo Subianto will also join the high-profile gathering.

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