BRASILIA, Sept 7 (NNN-AGENCIA BRASIL) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a phone talk with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to congratulate her on sending the Free Trade Agreement between the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the European Union (EU) to the European Parliament for a vote.
Lula, who is in charge of Mercosur’s rotating presidency this semester, also discussed relations between his and the European bloc during the 20-minute conference.
The Brazilian head of State hopes to sign the agreement at the end of the year during the Leaders’ Summit in Brazil. For him, the Europeans’ review of the text is “another important step towards its signing.”
“Both [Lula and Von der Leyen] agreed that, given the current uncertainty and disruption in international trade, the partnership between the two regional blocs is even more strategic,” read a statement from the Planalto Palace. The future agreement will create a market of more than 700 million people and account for 26% of global GDP, the document also mentioned.
“President Lula and President von der Leyen also reiterated their commitment to multilateralism and a more just and peaceful international order,” it added.
The European Union and the bloc formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay completed negotiations on the agreement last December, some 25 years after talks began. It will now be submitted for approval by the European Union, requiring a vote in the European Parliament and a qualified majority among EU governments, i.e., 15 of the 27 members representing 65% of the bloc’s population. There is no guarantee of approval in either case.
The agreement was presented last Wednesday (Sept 3) and pits France, the main critic of the agreement, against Germany and other countries that want new markets to compensate for the new US policy of increasing import tariffs on trading partners.
France, the EU’s largest beef producer, has described the agreement as “unacceptable,” saying it does not take into account environmental requirements in agricultural and industrial production, which Lula has labeled as protectionist.
European farmers have protested repeatedly, saying the agreement would lead to cheap imports of South American commodities, mainly beef, that do not meet EU food safety and ecological standards. The European Commission has denied this to be the case.
In his conversation with von der Leyen, Lula argued that any safeguard regulations adopted internally by the European Union should be fully in line with the spirit and terms agreed upon in the agreement.
The commission and proponents, such as Germany and Spain, say the agreement offers a way to offset trade losses due to tariffs imposed by Donald Trump and reduce dependence on China, particularly for essential minerals.
Supporters of the agreement in the European Union see Mercosur as a growing market for European cars, machinery, and chemicals, and a reliable source of minerals essential to its green transition, such as lithium metal for batteries, for which Europe currently depends on China.
They also point to agricultural benefits, as the agreement would offer greater access and lower tariffs for EU cheese, ham, and wine. — NNN-AGENCIA BRASIL
