In May 2026, during a meeting at the White House, Presidents Lula and Trump placed rare earth elements at the center of their discussion, following months of meetings between Brazilian and U.S. technical experts. That same week, the Chamber of Deputies approved the creation of the National Policy on Critical and Strategic Minerals (PNMCE), a bill that still requires Senate approval and which the government presents as a milestone capable of reshaping Brazil’s role on the global stage.

The progress of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, which will enter into force provisionally on May 1, has put South America back on the radar of international companies and investors. Negotiated over more than two decades, the pact provides for the progressive reduction of tariffs and the strengthening of trade between the blocs, connecting a potential market of approximately 718 million people and a combined GDP exceeding US$22.4 trillion, according to data from the European Commission and the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.