Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva urged this Saturday from Paris to put aside arrogance to move forward with the difficult negotiations aimed at closing a free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur.*100002 *
The president addressed the issue on Friday with his counterpart Emmanuel Macron, president of a France concerned about the competition of agricultural products from the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay) in case the agreement between blocks announced in 2019.
At a press conference in a Paris hotel, Lula commented on two essential points that are causing difficulties: France’s reluctance to open its agricultural market to those South American countries, and Brazil’s reluctance to open its industry.
Continue reading Lula visits Pope Francis and meets with Macron to discuss a Mercosur-EU agreement
It seems normal to me that France tries to defend its agriculture, and it may be a more difficult point, but you must understand that Brazil cannot open its hand in government purchases of industrial material, because in that case the possibility of strengthening the industry national is zero, and the possibility that small and medium businessmen produce for the State to buy from them is zero. So it is not possible, argued the president of Brazil.
Lula said that with these two central points there may not be an agreement, but we are going to improve other things.
It is important that Put a little arrogance aside and put on a good will to negotiate, and that goes for us and for them, he emphasized.
The leader of the largest Latin American economy did not venture to say when the negotiations could be closed, after the European Commission expressed its desire to do so this year.
But he defended the geostrategic value that this alliance could have for an EU that, according to him, risks being trapped in the new cold war between the United States The Brazilian president described This letter, which includes a series of additional environmental requirements related to the agricultural sector, threatens and makes compliance with various commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 mandatory.
Supporters of this hardening allege the risk of that European producers suffer unfair competition due to the difference in regulations between the two blocs, and that consumers become complicit in deforestation in South America.
SOURCE: AFP* 100026*
Note topics
Lula
European Union
mercosur
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