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Brazil Expands Trade With Russia Amid War. Understand How the Relation Between Russia and Brazil Can Be Risky, Despite Benefiting the Country.
While the United States and Europe lead a coalition to boycott Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the Brazilian federal government expanded trade with Vladimir Putin’s Russia in 2023, amid the war. For the first time since the relationship rose to the status of strategic partnership 20 years ago, trade exchanges surpassed the target of US$ 10 billion, reaching US$ 11.3 billion over the past year.
Trade Between Russia And Brazil Grew By 6,000%
The move, according to analysts, reflects President Lula’s government’s bet on the “Global South,” which is risky. This “Global South,” the focus of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s foreign policy, has resisted the appeals from Kiev and allies to isolate Moscow.
Thus, it emerged as an alternative route for Vladimir Putin to circumvent sanctions, while the country benefits from cheaper fuels from Russia. The Brazil, for example, became the largest buyer of Russian diesel, with 6 million tons imported in 2023 (Data from Carta Capital). This represents an increase of 6,000% compared to the previous year and a total of US$ 4.5 billion.
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Next, we have fertilizers, which account for another significant portion of trade with Russia, totaling US$ 3.9 billion for the year, according to data from the Trading Economics monitor. Brazil expands trade with Russia since, historically, the country opposes unilateral sanctions and only considers embargoes validated by the UN, which would not happen in this case because Russia has the power to veto any punishment it might face.
According to the international relations professor at FGV, Pedro Brites, there is a predominant pragmatic aspect to importing oil derivatives, especially diesel, from a relevant producer under favorable conditions to stabilize prices domestically.
Putin Evaluates Lula’s Invitation to Establish Partnerships Between Russia and Brazil
According to Brites, there is also a political aspect. The condemnation of Russia for the war in Ukraine is very strong among Global North countries, but it has not spread as effectively in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. There is a division on how to deal with Russia. And here we have Lula’s government trying to get closer to those countries in the Global South that politically favor Russia.
In his to-and-fro statements about the conflict, the Brazilian president has been criticized for equating the responsibilities that Ukraine (the invaded country) and Russia (the invading country) would have for the war by saying that “when one doesn’t want to, two don’t fight.”
Lula also suggested that Putin could come to Brazil without fear of being detained, despite being the target of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). To pave the way, the government attests to the thesis of immunity for heads of state to receive him in November at the G-20 Summit.
Understand How The Approach Between Russia And Brazil Is Viewed By The USA
As Brazil expands trade with Russia, Lula tried to present himself as a mediator for the conflict but conveyed the impression of alignment with Moscow to Kiev and its allies in the West. An example of this was when the White House accused the president of “parroting Russian propaganda” by stating that the US and Europe prolonged the war, referencing the supply of arms to Ukrainian troops.
According to analyst Daniel Buarque, with the sanctions, Russia has a limited number of countries with which it can do business. This causes Russia to be more committed to expanding its business, favoring trade relations with countries that are open. Lula has benefited from this, expanding agreements between Russia and Brazil.
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