Brazil's Lula and France's Macron spar over EU-Mercosur trade deal

Yahoo

a day ago

By Elizabeth Pineau and Gabriel Araujo
PARIS (Reuters) -Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French leader Emmanuel Macron disagreed on Thursday over the EU-Mercosur free trade deal, with Lula urging Macron during a visit to Paris to sign off on a deal that angers French farmers.
The differences between the two men underline the challenges of getting the long-delayed trade deal between South America's Mercosur bloc and the European Union over the line.
A deal was finalised in December but still needs approval from member states like France, which argues the pact as it stands is harmful to its powerful agricultural sector.
Lula, on a state visit to France, said he will soon take up the rotating presidency of South America's Mercosur bloc, and committed to using that six-month stint to ink a lasting accord.
"I will not leave the Mercosur presidency without having concluded the trade deal," Lula told a press conference alongside Macron, urging the French president to "open your heart" to the deal.
He also said he would like to get French and Brazilian farmers together so they could settle their differences and hash out an accord, while also urging Macron to reassure European peers about Brazil's commitment to fight deforestation.
Macron said he was in favor of free and equitable trade, but that the deal currently harms French and European farmers who would have to compete against South American peers not subject to the same norms and regulations. He said the text could be improved with the insertion of mirror clauses.
France has previously argued for the insertion of an emergency break clause to restrict imports if a sudden surge in imports destabilizes certain EU markets.
In a meeting with French lawmakers this week, French farmers' groups urged Macron to rally partners to form a blocking minority against the Mercosur deal, which they say would be devastating for the beef, poultry and sugar industries and compromise the EU's ambitions in terms of food sovereignty.
On the war between Russia and Ukraine, Macron said Brazil, along with China and India, could do more to pressure Moscow to end the fighting.
Lula said he was committed to brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine, while Macron said everyone wanted peace, but that Moscow was the aggressor and that fact needed to be taken into account when adjudicating an end to the fighting.