US EditionBrazil’s Lula Hopes EU-Mercosur Trade Deal Will Be Signed in January
The deal aims to open markets for 780 million people and remove duties on nearly all traded goods despite opposition from some EU countries and farmers.
- On Saturday, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he hopes the EU-Mercosur free-trade deal will be signed in January despite European negotiators' delays and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni's request for more time.
- Amid farmers' protests, French President Emmanuel Macron discussed delaying the EU-Mercosur deal with colleagues, including Italy, to address concerns, risking approval delays.
- The agreement links the EU with the five active Mercosur countries—Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia—and covers a market of 780 million people and a quarter of global GDP.
- Delays after a tense summit mean Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, lacks immediate consensus as she needs backing from two-thirds of EU nations and faces a potential veto if Italy aligns with France.
- As support falters in parts of the EU, Mercosur said it will keep working with other partners, and Lula argued Emmanuel Macron alone cannot block the deal.
47 Articles
47 Articles
It is not just an agreement. “It is a great opportunity, the biggest one the EU and Mercosur have. It means the birth of a community for the next twenty years. It would be the great change of quality between two cultures and two similar stories. No one expects anyone.” Uruguayan Chancellor Mario Lubetkin’s phrase puts in black-white what is at stake: the urgency and magnitude of a long-delayed decision. After more than two long decades of negoti…
The European Union (EU) committed itself in a letter sent to the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to sign the free trade agreement with Mercosur in early January, following internal disagreements that prevented him from signing the treaty on Saturday as scheduled.The letter, dated Friday and released this Saturday by the Brazilian Presidency during the opening ceremony of the Mercosur Summit, is signed by the President of the Euro…
The signing of this trade treaty was postponed until January in the face of the anger of European farmers, and the opposition, in particular, of France and Italy.
Video. Brazil's Lula calls EU to seek 'political courage' over Mercosur deal
Video. During a meeting with the South American bloc at Foz do Iguazu on Saturday, he regretted the postponement by the EU of the agreement that would have created the largest free trade zone in the world.
Mercosur’s Pivot After Europe Hits Pause on a Once-in-a-Generation Trade Deal
Key Points Europe postponed the EU–Mercosur pact to January 2026 after Italy joined France in demanding stronger farmer protections. Lula privately warned that if the deal is not finalized “now,” Brazil will not keep pursuing it during his presidency, even as he publicly left room for a January outcome. Mercosur is trying to accelerate at […]
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