Patriota, Lula’s man in London, stuck to diplomatic language and did not name Trump when discussing the relationship. Instead, he stressed that Brazil and Britain wanted to set “examples of active and responsible behavior” on climate, “independently of what other players may decide to do or not.”
Niblett said: “If the U.K. is seen as the more predictable player on the green agenda, then we may get more of the foreign investment into our efforts to drive green transition.” That would help Starmer with his clean energy mission at home, he added — “because we’ve got very little domestic dosh to put into that process.”
Trade and investment would be on the agenda for any visit next year, Patriota added. “Trade between Brazil and the U.K. could be [at] much higher levels than it is today,” he said.
But some experts played down the trade relationship. The U.K., relatively speaking, is a “bit player” in economic importance to Brazil, said Lapper. Brazil is the U.K.’s 28th largest trading partner, accounting for 0.6 percent of total U.K. trade, according to the latest Whitehall data.
And Starmer will need to tread carefully. Free-trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur, the South American trade bloc of which Brazil is part, took 25 years and still face opposition from farmers in France and elsewhere, over fears they will be undercut by cheap imports. The agreement “risks having dramatic consequences for agriculture,” said Arnaud Rousseau, head of the country’s powerful French FNSEA association. Starmer, already facing the fury of U.K. farmers, can ill afford to anger rural voters even more.
But with such an unpromising geopolitical backdrop, both countries seem determined not to let potential pitfalls stand in the way of action on a shared priority — climate.
Both can play “a significant role in today’s world affairs,” Patriota said. “In the case of Brazil, you could describe it as an emerging role. It is the first time in our history.
“In the case of Britain — perhaps a moment where Britain is trying to redefine its position in international affairs.”
