SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday he expects to discuss the trade deal between Mercosur and the European Union with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron as they meet this week, including “tough” stances by France on it.
Lula, who will travel to Europe on Monday and is scheduled to meet with Macron in Paris, has been criticizing the French National Assembly for passing a resolution against the approval of deal last week.
French lawmakers have said the EU agreement with the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay could lead to increased deforestation in South America and hurt French and European farmers.
“I’m having lunch with Macron and I want to raise the issue of the French parliament toughening the trade deal,” Lula said in a weekly live broadcast on social media. “If we are strategic partners, then one cannot threaten the other.”
The long overdue trade deal was struck in 2019 but still needs to be finalized, being put on hold since then largely due to European concerns over Amazon deforestation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Latin America last week and said, after meeting with Lula, that the EU hopes to finalize the deal by the end of the year at the latest.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan)
