Planalto bets on a meeting between Lula and Trump at the G7 President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) leaves for France this Sunday (14). Lula will participate in the meeting of leaders of the G7 countries, scheduled for Tuesday (16), in the city of Évian-les-Bains. The government is working on the possibility of a meeting between Lula and United States President Donald Trump during the summit meeting. But there is no previously scheduled meeting between the presidents. The Palácio do Planalto's strategy is to ensure that the Brazilian president is present on Monday (15), the first day of the event, given the possibility that Trump will only participate in the opening of the meeting, repeating what happened at the G7 meeting held in Canada last year. There was no instruction from Lula for his assistants to request a bilateral meeting with Trump. There was also no request for a meeting from the White House. The lack of formal requests from both sides, however, is not seen as an impediment to a meeting. The possible meeting would take place after a new US offensive against Brazilian products that could increase the total load to 37.5%, if the measures are implemented. In the government, the assessment is that: the proposal for an additional 25% tariff, justified by Washington based on alleged unfair trade practices, can still be reversed through negotiation. The 12.5% ​​surcharge, linked to the allegation of a lack of sufficient action against forced labor, is seen by members of the Brazilian team as a practically consolidated decision. 🌎Brazil is not part of the G7, however, Lula has been invited to group meetings since returning to Palácio do Planalto, in 2023. The G7 brings together some of the largest economies in the world: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. At the White House, Lula and Donald Trump discuss rare earths, organized crime and trade National Newspaper/ Reproduction Other bilaterals Lula will meet with the host of the meeting — the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. The meeting is scheduled for Monday (15). The president is also expected to have a bilateral meeting with Japan's Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi. Lula also wants to talk to the leaders of the other countries that make up the group — Germany, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom. Participation in the G7 Lula must adopt a critical tone towards so-called protectionism – through which a country or a bloc adopts measures considered excessive to protect local producers to the detriment of foreign ones – and unilateralism – a term used in diplomacy to characterize measures taken by one country against another without prior communications or negotiations. According to diplomats, Lula will send the “message” to the G7 leaders that he is against the American government’s tariffs without pointing “the finger in the face” of the president of the United States. Last week, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, led a preparatory meeting for the G7, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, represented Brazil at the meeting. According to diplomatic sources, Mauro Vieira made precisely this defense, that organizations like the WTO need to have more strength to act, considering the global economic scenario with measures being adopted unilaterally, such as Trump's tariffs. Lunch on artificial intelligence One of the agendas planned at the G7 is a lunch to discuss the topic of artificial intelligence. Lula must argue that Brazil does not persecute digital platforms nor discriminate against other platforms. The president must say that Brazil is open to receiving operations from technology companies, as long as they act in accordance with Brazilian laws. In one of the recommendations on tariffs against Brazil, the Office of the American Trade Representative (USTR) justifies the measure by claiming that, among other points, the Brazilian Judiciary takes measures against American technology companies