Diplomats bet on Lula's meeting with Trump at the G7 to avoid new US tariffs against Brazil

Planalto bets on a meeting between Lula and Trump at the G7
Brazilian diplomats are betting on a possible new meeting between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, during the G7 meeting in France, to unlock negotiations on the threat of new tariffs on Brazil.
The Brazilian government assesses that the recommendations for new tariffs against Brazil are political in nature and disregard the technical arguments presented over the last few months.
In recent weeks, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recommended, for example, that Brazil be taxed for unfair economic practices against American businesspeople.
Among the items included in the recommendation are PIX, ethanol, the fight against deforestation and intellectual property.
This recommendation, which has not yet been implemented, was made based on the so-called Section 301 of American commercial law, an instrument created in the 1970s.
Since July 2025, when the Trump administration announced the opening of the trade investigation, there have been several conversations between members of the Brazilian and American governments, whether by telephone, videoconference or meetings in Washington.
According to reports about the negotiations, in all these conversations, official data were presented to the American authorities; questions were answered; and doubts, clarified.
Diplomats familiar with the negotiations assess that these arguments were disregarded, including those that demonstrate that in recent years Brazil has been seeking to combat illegal deforestation.
Brazil is not part of the G7, but, as in previous editions, Lula was invited by the host of the meeting - this year, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. The meeting takes place next week.
Lula and Trump have already met in Malaysia, in October 2025, and in Washington, in May this year - in addition to a quick conversation last year in New York (USA), during the United Nations assembly.
Members of the Palácio do Planalto understand that, as technical conversations at the USTR have not progressed, a possible path is a direct meeting between Lula and Trump.
Lula and Trump in a meeting at the House Branca
Ricardo Stuckert
Reciprocity Law
In the face of the American tariff against Brazil, the National Congress, with the support of the government, approved the so-called Reciprocity Law, which allows the Brazilian State to act in the same proportion if any economic partner adopts a measure that results in harm to the country's economy.
Over the last few weeks, the Brazilian government has issued two official communiqués in which it made reference to this law.
However, in the Itamaraty, diplomats say that, despite having the instrument available, the government must insist on political and diplomatic negotiations.
This is because the United States is Brazil's second largest trading partner, behind only China. Therefore, it could be bad for the economy to adopt the law of reciprocity, harming bilateral trade.

Source: G1