Government avoids linking Lula's trip to the G7 Summit to tariffs
The federal government has avoided making a direct correlation between the participation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in the G7 summit in France and the tariff imposed by the United States on Brazil. According to CNN Political Analyst Isabel Mega, on Live CNN, Brazil also decided not to request a formal bilateral meeting with the North American government.
The official stance is that the Brazilian presence at the meeting goes far beyond the tariff issue, even though the context of trade negotiations with Washington serves as a backdrop for the trip.
If there is any interaction between Lula and American President Donald Trump during the meeting, it will take place informally, without the nature of a structured meeting. "We didn't count on this until President Lula arrived in France", said Isabel Mega.
Peer-to-peer negotiation
Brazil maintains, however, the expectation that it will still be possible to move forward in negotiations around the 25% taxation announced two weeks before the summit, within the scope of the so-called Section 301 - a commercial investigation led by the United States.
The Brazilian government has contested, point by point, the arguments raised in the investigation, including topics such as Pix, deforestation and the bilateral economic relationship. "Brazil has been wasting its time since last year, more than a year, to explain to the Americans that several of those points are quite contestable", highlighted the analyst.
The expectation is that any messages from Lula will be given broadly and not directly aimed at Trump. Criticism of protectionist practices and defense of multilateralism must set the tone for Brazilian participation.
"The tariff is a beautiful example of a protectionist practice", said Isabel Mega, adding that this type of message usually appears in the president's speeches when he speaks abroad.
Delay in confirmation drew attention
Brazil's delay in formalizing participation in the summit also generated attention. The invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in February, but confirmation took time.
Lula himself gave a hint about the behind the scenes when he publicly declared that he initially did not intend to go to the G7, but that he had changed his mind - a speech that reinforced the association of the trip with the context of the tariff. "I wasn't even going to go to the G7, but now I'm going," the president reportedly said, according to the analyst's report.
The Palácio do Planalto, however, reinforces that Brazilian participation must be read from a more comprehensive perspective. Negotiations on tariffs, according to the government, will continue to be handled through a specific working group, and not within the scope of the summit. This will be the tenth time that Lula participates in the G7 as a special guest.
The texts generated by artificial intelligence on CNN Brasil are made based on video cuts from the newspapers in its programming. All information is investigated and checked by journalists. The final text is also reviewed by the CNN journalism team. Click here to find out more.
Source: CNN