Lula wants to prioritize diplomacy, but sees channels with the US closed

After a meeting lasting more than four hours at the Alvorada Palace on Sunday the 13th, President Lula (Workers' Party) instructed his team to prioritize diplomatic solutions to the tariff hike announced by Donald Trump . What's getting in the way, however, is the increasingly consolidated perception within the government that institutional channels with the United States are virtually closed.

Since Trump announced 50% tariffs on Brazilian products, Brazil's ambassador to Washington, Maria Luiza Viotti , has been trying to reach out to White House representatives to discuss the matter, but to no avail. There has been no official response or clear indication of a willingness to engage in dialogue.

The Foreign Ministry's assessment is that Trump has politicized relations with Brazil. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that the environment created by the tycoon hinders a technical approach or one based on multilateral precedents and rules out the possibility of direct high-level negotiations with Washington, at least in the short term.

Although Lula's order was to exhaust diplomatic avenues, there is a growing understanding within the government that it will be necessary to signal strength, precisely through the application of the Reciprocity Law . The creation of the committee led by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB) reinforces this possibility, but interlocutors at the Planalto Palace still hope for some American gesture that will prevent the crisis from worsening.