When President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva takes the podium at the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow, he will do so under the shadow of a bitter standoff with Washington. Two months after Donald Trump announced new 50% tariffs on Brazilian exports, Lula is using the global stage to mount a subtle counteroffensive, setting his agenda against the priorities of the American leader.
The Brazilian president’s schedule includes meetings on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza — where the US has firmly backed Israel — and a forum on defending democracy, to which the US is not invited.
Brazilian officials privately accused US officials of going out of their way to impose gratuitous obstacles in the path of Brazil’s delegation. Health Minister Alexandre Padilha was issued a permit that allowed him to circulate only within a narrow perimeter around the UN headquarters in Manhattan, restrictions that Brazilian authorities said were insulting.
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