Vice President Geraldo Alckmin’s trip to Mexico and Canada marks more than a commercial mission: it is the first visible movement of the international reorientation that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) intends to print to Brazilian foreign policy after.
Since Donald Trump’s announcement, which has raised tariffs to Brazilian products to 50%, the government has accelerated negotiations to diversify markets and reduce dependence on the country’s second largest commercial partner.
The new posture is pragmatic and urgent. It is estimated that more than $ 22 billion in Brazilian exports will be subjected to American tariffs, representing 55% of everything Brazil sells to the US.
Free tool
XP Simulator
Learn in 1 minute how much your money can yield
Lula’s response has been to reinforce ties with alternative partners, especially within Latin America, and seek greater insertion in multilateral blocks.
Alckmin’s mission this week is an example of this. In Mexico, the vice president signed commercial agreements focused on agriculture, bioenergy, industry and technology. The meetings involved more than 100 Brazilian entrepreneurs and reinforced the government’s interest in transforming Mexico, today the seventh largest destination of Brazilian exports, into a logistics platform to access the US market for indirect roads.
The same goes for Canada, which will integrate a axis of commercial and environmental cooperation with Brazil.
Continues after advertising
“It’s time to expand trade, diversify partnerships and create bridges instead of barriers,” Alckmin said in a speech on Wednesday (27).
He also pointed out that Brazil and Mexico are the two largest democracies in Latin America and that, even in the environmental field. Lula had already set the tone in internal meetings by arguing that Brazil “cannot accept being treated as an enemy by those who have always been a partner.”
Brazilian movement also has geopolitical implications. By approaching Latin American powers such as Mexico and Argentina, and sewing agreements with countries in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, Lula tries to reposition Brazil as a global articulator and advocate of multilateralism.
Continues after advertising
This occurs at a time when the US, under Trump, adopting a protectionist and hostile discourse, including political insinuations, such as the statement that Brazil “does not respect human rights” for investigating allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
In practice, this change of route can lead to a new configuration in productive chains. Sectors such as meat, coffee, soy, ethanol, machines and technology already show interest in expanding presence in Mexico and other markets.
Apexbrasil identified 72 countries with the potential to absorb part of Brazilian exports affected by US tariffs, with Mexico being one of the top ten destinations.
Continues after advertising
Brazilian diplomacy also sees the opportunity to advance Mercosur agreements with countries such as Canada, Singapore, UAE and the EFTA Block (which brings together Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein). According to Alckmin, these articulations reflect Lula’s bet on multilateral trade and the repositioning of Brazil as an economic power in search of balance in international relations.
It is still early to predict the full impact of the Brazilian turn, but the message is clear: Brazil will not accept isolation or unilateral impositions. The goal, according to government members, is to rebalance trade, protect national exporters and consolidate the country as an active voice in a transition world. In Alckmin’s words: “It’s time to build bridges, not walls.”
