Brazil and the United States are moving closer to a bilateral trade agreement, with both sides committing to define the conceptual scope of negotiations in the coming weeks, covering tariffs, non-tariff barriers, quotas, and safeguards. The development emerged from a meeting between Brazil's Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Márcio Elias Rosa and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on the sidelines of the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in Milwaukee on 1 October 2026.

What Was Agreed in Milwaukee

Minister Rosa described the bilateral exchange as a 'good meeting,' saying both parties 'renewed the commitment to having an agreement.' Speaking through an interpreter, he noted that Greer had shown clear interest in advancing the negotiations. 'We're closer by the day,' Rosa told reporters during an impromptu press interaction.

The immediate priority, Rosa said, was establishing the boundaries of what the negotiations would cover. 'In the coming weeks, we are going to define a conceptual scope of such trade agreements, which can talk about tariff or non-tariff issues,' he said. He acknowledged the complexity of that exercise, warning that a failure to set limits early could make talks open-ended.

Scope and Structure of the Proposed Deal

Among the specific mechanisms under consideration are tariff reductions, quotas, and safeguards. Rosa was candid about the negotiating challenge: 'Are we going to talk about quotas? Are we going to talk about tariff reduction? Are we going to include safeguards?' Sectors and thresholds would need to be identified before any framework could be formalised, he said. Listing all goods and services, he cautioned, 'would be months or years.'

This is notably the second in-person meeting between the two sides at the Milwaukee G20 gathering, following direct presidential engagement that reportedly helped restart stalled talks after US tariffs began weighing on the Brazilian economy.

Brazil's Position on Multilateralism

Brasilia has been firm on one point: it opposes the use of tariffs as instruments of coercion or discrimination and maintains that the World Trade Organization (WTO) should provide universal rules for global commerce. Rosa was careful to frame bilateral negotiations not as a departure from multilateralism, but as consistent with it. 'The Brazilian government is never away from the negotiation table for one reason. Because Brazil believes in multilateralism,' he said.

The Milwaukee talks ran alongside broader G20 discussions on multilateral trade rules, food security, excess capacity, and WTO reform — a context that gave Brazil's multilateralist stance added visibility on the global stage.

Why This Matters for Both Economies

Brazil and the US share a wide-ranging commercial relationship spanning agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and services. Trade tensions in recent months had strained that relationship, injecting urgency into the search for a negotiated framework on tariff and market-access disputes. A formal agreement, if eventually concluded, would be among the most significant bilateral trade frameworks between a major South American economy and the United States in recent memory. For Brazil, it would also serve as a signal that its diplomacy can deliver market access without abandoning its WTO-first principles.

What Comes Next

Both sides are expected to hold further working-level exchanges in the weeks ahead to map out a conceptual framework. The outcomes of those discussions will likely determine whether the negotiations progress to a formal deal or remain at the scoping stage. Watchers of US trade policy will also note that Greer's visible engagement signals the current US administration's willingness to pursue bilateral tracks even as multilateral WTO negotiations remain slow-moving.