Lula asks to put aside “arrogance” to close the EU-Mercosur agreement

The Brazilian President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvaexhorted this Saturday from Paris to put aside “arrogance” to move forward with the difficult negotiations aimed at closing a free trade agreement between the EU and mercosur.

The leftist 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 the event that the agreement between the announced blocs is finally ratified in 2019.

At a press conference in a Paris hotel, Lula commented “two essential points” that are raising difficulties: France’s reluctance to open its agricultural market to those South American countries, and Brazil’s to open its industry.

“It seems normal to me that France tries to defend its agricultureand it can be a point of more difficulty”but “They must understand that Brazil cannot open its hand in government purchases” of industrial material, because in that case “the possibility of strengthening the national industry is zero, and the possibility that small and medium businessmen produce for the State to buy from them is zero. So it’s not possible.”argued the president of Brazil.

Lula said that with these two central points “Maybe there is no agreement, but we are going to improve other things.”

“It is important that arrogance be put aside a bit and that good will be used to negotiate, and that is valid 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 USA and China”.

The day before, during a financial summit in Paris, Lula publicly attacked some additional environmental demands that the EU made to the Mercosur countries in March.

The Brazilian president described “threat” that letter, which includes a series of additional environmental requirements related to the agricultural sector, and makes compliance with various commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015 mandatory.

Supporters of this tightening allege the risk 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