Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva departed this Sunday (13) for the city of Évian-les-Bains, France, where he will participate, as a guest, in the G7 Summit, the forum that brings together seven of the world's largest industrialized economies, according to a note from "Agência Brasil". This is the 10th time Lula has participated in this meeting during his three terms in office. The full members of the group are: Canada, United States (USA), United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and Japan. The European Union (EU) also participates as an institutional member. Lula's trip raises expectations for possible interactions with US President Donald Trump, at a time of renewed tension between the two countries, two weeks after the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) indicated a 25% tariff on some Brazilian imports. The USTR report is the result of an investigation initiated a year ago by the Trump administration against alleged "unfair practices" by Brazil in trade with the USA. Among other issues, to justify the measure, the institution accuses Pix of "unfairly" harming US companies that provide electronic payment services, such as credit card operators like MasterCard and Visa, and WhatsApp Pay. To date, there has been no confirmation of a possible bilateral meeting between Lula and Trump. If any meeting between the two leaders occurs in France, it will be just over a month since their last meeting at the White House in Washington in early May. On that occasion, according to Lula, teams from both governments were instructed to present a proposal to resolve the impasse over export tariffs and the USTR trade investigation, which has not yet happened. "That [meeting between Lula and Trump] is not defined. Contacts with the United States continue, for now that's all I can say, and they have been intensely ongoing since the beginning, and this continues to happen," said Ambassador Philip Fox-Drummond Gough, Secretary of Economic and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), in an interview with journalists this Wednesday (10). This will also be the first contact between Lula and Trump after the US government formally designated the Brazilian criminal factions Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). The Brazilian government had been trying, in recent months, to avoid this designation, believing that it could pave the way for US military action in Brazil or the application of severe sanctions in economic and financial sectors.

Veto on Brazilian meat

Another focus of attention during Lula's trip to the G7 revolves around the relationship with the European Union. A week ago, the bloc formalized its decision to prohibit the import of meat, offal, fish, and honey produced in Brazil. The veto is expected to take effect on September 3rd. Announced almost a month ago, a few days after the provisional entry into force of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, the decision to exclude Brazil from the list of countries authorized to export these products to the countries of the European bloc was confirmed in an official document published in the Official Gazette on June 5th. There is also no confirmation regarding a possible meeting between Lula and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. "Obviously, I think the main message we want to convey to the Europeans is that we were somewhat surprised by how things turned out. We are seeing some measures from the European Union that are causing us some concern. And the tone of the discussion, if there is one, or at other times, not necessarily at the G7, will be this, with a certain concern about these recent developments and to see what we can do to resolve the issues," pointed out Ambassador Philip Fox-Drummond Gough, who is directly involved in the negotiations.

Brazil and Japan

While Lula's bilateral meetings during the G7 summit are yet to be confirmed, one meeting that is already on the agenda is with Japan's Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi. She made history by becoming the first woman to assume the top executive position in the Asian country, taking office in October 2025. This will be the first official meeting between the two, and there is an expectation that negotiations will begin regarding a future agreement between Japan and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay). This year's G7 summit, chaired by France, will take place from June 15th to 17th. In addition to Brazil, the group has invited leaders from other important countries, such as India, Kenya, South Korea, and Egypt. Another likely bilateral meeting for Lula will be with the event's host, French President Emmanuel Macron.

Deliberative sessions

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty) confirmed that Lula will participate in three events during the G7 summit. The first, on the 16th, is a leaders' session where the Brazilian president will speak about international partnerships for development. It is expected that Lula will call for an expansion of Official Development Assistance (ODA). ODA refers to financial transfers made by the world's most industrialized countries to promote the well-being and economic development of more vulnerable countries. On the 17th, in another leaders' session, Lula will address the topic of balanced economic growth, emphasizing the need for reform of global governance, especially institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN). Also on the 17th, the Brazilian delegation will participate in a luncheon focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.