BRAZIL PERSPECTIVE

Brasilia, June 15, 2026. Brazil is not a G7 member—yet occupies a central place in Brazilian media coverage of the Evian-les-Bains summit. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva boarded a flight to France on Sunday, June 14, invited by Emmanuel Macron as host of the 52nd gathering. The Planalto Palace strategy is precise: arrive Monday, June 15, the summit's opening day, in case Donald Trump attends only the ceremony and departs early, as he did at last year's Canadian G7. Although neither side has formally requested a bilateral meeting, the Brazilian government is quietly positioning itself for a corridor conversation. The agenda is substantial. Washington has imposed an additional 25% surcharge on Brazilian goods, citing unfair trade practices, plus a 12.5% duty linked to insufficient labor-trafficking enforcement. Lula's team judges the first negotiable; the second is viewed as essentially locked in. The broader geopolitical context unfolding in Evian dominates Brazilian press coverage. The announced agreement between Washington and Tehran to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz—closed for over one hundred days since February—was confirmed Sunday by both capitals. A signing is scheduled for June 19 in Switzerland under Pakistani mediation. Trump authorized on Truth Social "complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz without tolls" and simultaneous lifting of the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports. Tehran projects reopening within thirty days, with a final accord in sixty. The economic impact was immediate: Brent crude dropped 4% on the announcement. Yet the accord's durability is questioned. Following Pakistan's announcement, Israel again bombed Beirut, prompting Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf to question America's "capacity or willingness to honor its commitments." Trump, celebrating his 80th birthday Sunday, criticized the Israeli strike on Truth Social: "This morning's attack on Beirut should not have happened, especially on such an important day." On the U.S.-France trade front, Brazilian press reports Trump's ultimatum to Macron: if Paris does not drop the 3% tax on American tech giants—the GAFAM levy—Washington will impose 100% tariffs on French wines and champagne, a sector worth over $2 billion annually, with one-fifth of global sales dependent on the U.S. market. On the summit's sidelines in Geneva, roughly 20,000 protesters marched; some set a Tesla vehicle alight and smashed UN office windows, forcing police to deploy tear gas.