This Sunday (22), in a press conference, President Lula stated that he intends to treat the relationship between Brazil and the United States “very seriously” in a possible conversation with North American President Donald Trump. According to Lula, the two countries need to put all issues on the negotiating table, without vetoes or restrictions, and conduct dialogue in a direct and transparent way.
Last Saturday (21), Trump imposed a global tariff of 15%, amid the American Supreme Court’s decision not to be in favor of his decisions related to the issue. With this, Lula disagreed with the North American’s measure:
“We were surprised by the impact of United States taxation, because it was done in a totally anomalous way, because it was an unthinkable thing for you to receive on Twitter, you know, the determination of one country to tax another. In the past, a meeting was held between the ministers of finance, between the ministers of industry and commerce. No, but he does all of this. We take decisions very carefully.”
Lula said that his agenda will include trade, university partnerships, cooperation in the fight against organized crime and the situation of the Brazilian community living in the United States. The president also stated that he wants to discuss American investments in Brazil, highlighting that, according to him, these investments have decreased in recent years.
Furthermore, the president mentioned that the dialogue agenda with Trump goes far beyond the discussion on critical minerals. According to him, Brazil and the USA have maintained a solid diplomatic relationship for 201 years, marked by historic cooperation, and needs to be treated with “balance and responsibility”.
When addressing the issue of critical minerals, Lula advocated that Brazil stop acting solely as an exporter of raw materials and start investing in internal industrialization, especially in the context of the energy transition. He cited the creation of the National Council for Mineral Policy, subordinate to the Presidency of the Republic, as an instrument to give more “seriousness and objectivity” to the management of strategic resources and ensure that the transformation process takes place in the national territory.
