Lula at the G7 raises expectations for US tariffs and EU veto on meat

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva leaves this Sunday (13) for the city of Évian-les-Bains, in France, where he will participate, as a guest, in the G7 Summit, the forum that brings together seven of the largest industrialized economies on the planet.

It is the 10th time that Lula has participated in this meeting, throughout his three terms. The group’s full members are: Canada, United States (USA), United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and Japan. The European Union (EU) also participates as an institutional member.

Lula’s departure raises expectations for possible interactions with US President Donald Trump, at a time of new tension between the two countries, two weeks after the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) indicated 25% taxation on part of Brazilian imports.

The USTR report is the result of an investigation launched a year ago by the Trump administration against alleged “unfair practices” by Brazil in trade with the USA. Among other topics, to justify the measure, the institution accuses Pix of “unfairly” harming American companies that provide electronic payment services, such as credit card operators, such as MasterCard and Visa, and WhatsApp Pay.

So far, there has been no confirmation about a possible bilateral meeting between Lula and Trump. If any meeting between the two leaders takes place in France, it will be just over a month after their last meeting, at the White House in Washington, in early May.

At the time, 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 effectively happened yet.

“That [encontro entre Lula e Trump] is not defined. Contacts continue with the United States, that’s what I can say for now, and that they have been ongoing in an intense way, since always, 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 (FTO).

The Brazilian government had been trying, in recent months, to avoid this designation as it assessed 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 on Lula’s trip to the G7 involves his relationship with the European Union. A week ago, the bloc made official its decision to ban the import of meat, tripe, fish and honey produced in Brazil. The veto should come into force from 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 definition 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 send to the Europeans is that we were a little surprised by the way it was. We are seeing some measures from the European Union that cause us some concern. And the tone of the discussion, if there is one, or at other times, not necessarily in the G7, will be this, with a certain concern about these latest developments and seeing what we can do to resolve the issues”, pointed out ambassador Philip Fox-Drummond Gough, who is directly following the negotiations.

Brazil and Japan

While Lula’s bilateral meetings during the G7 summit are not confirmed, a meeting that is already on the agenda will be with Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. She made history by becoming the first woman to assume the main 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 of opening negotiations around a future agreement between Japan and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay).

This year’s G7 summit, chaired by France, takes place June 15-17. In addition to Brazil, the group invited leaders from other important countries, such as India, Kenya, South Korea and Egypt. Lula’s other likely bilateral meeting should be with the event’s host, French President Emmanuel Macron.

Deliberative sessions

Itamaraty confirmed that Lula will participate in three events during the G7.

The first, on the 16th, is a leaders’ session in which the Brazilian president will speak about international partnerships for development. The expectation is that Lula will cover the expansion of Official Development Assistance (AOD). The so-called AOD, which in English is Official Development Assistance (ODA), refers to financial transfers made by the most industrialized countries in the world to promote the well-being and economic development of countries in more vulnerable situations.

On the 17th, in another session of leaders, Lula will address the topic of balanced economic growth, on which occasion he will speak with emphasis on the need to reform global governance, especially institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) itself.

Still on the 17th, the Brazilian delegation will participate in a lunch whose central theme will be Artificial Intelligence (AI).