Alckmin meets Rajnath, to hold trade meeting with Piyush Goyal on Oct 16

Brazil Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, who is also his country’s minister for trade and industry, landed in India on Wednesday for a three-day visit. He will be attending the inaugural ‘trade ministerial review’ along with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. 

India and Brazil are among countries facing the steepest tariffs imposed by the US. They have since July explored ways to increase bilateral trade from $12.20 billion (2024-25) to $20 billion in the next five years. 

Alckmin’s visit will also prepare the ground for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s visit to India, along with a sizeable business delegation, in early 2026. Alckmin, accompanied by cabinet ministers, senior officials and a business delegation, will hold the inaugural trade ministerial review meeting with Goyal on Thursday. The delegation comprises executives from oil giant Petrobras, the mining company Vale SA and food processor BRF SA. The two countries will also discuss expanding the Mercosur–India preferential trade agreement. 

 

Alckmin along with the Brazilian defence minister met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday evening. He is also scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Oil Minister Hardeep Puri. Alckmin is set to attend the India- Brazil Business Forum, the Ministry of External Affairs said. 

On October 3, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Celso Luis Nunes Amorim in New Delhi. A Brazilian trade delegation was also in India last week. 

The external affairs ministry said Alckmin’s visit would provide an opportunity to review bilateral trade and investment. It would also identify new priority sectors, set a road map towards achieving the trade target and further strengthen the multifaceted strategic partnership. 

The White House has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on both India and Brazil. While India was slapped with an additional 25 per cent tariff in August for its purchase of Russian oil, the White House levied an additional tariff on Brazil for the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump. 

Modi travelled to Rio de Janeiro in July to attend the G20 Summit, and later to Brasilia for a bilateral summit, where the Brazilian government rolled out the red carpet for him and Lula hosted him at a luncheon at the presidential palace. Both India and Brazil are founding members of BRICS grouping. 

In a related development, speaking at a bilateral meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei on Tuesday, Trump called the BRICS grouping an “attack” on the US dollar, claiming that he threatened nations seeking to join the bloc with tariffs following which “everybody dropped out”. Trump said he was “very strong” on the dollar, adding that “anybody who wants to deal in dollars” will have an “advantage” over those who do not, PTI reported.