LatinNews Daily - 04 December 2023

* Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has given a press conference in which he blamed the European Union (EU) for being intransigent in the trade negotiations with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. On 2 December Lula held a meeting with France’s President Emmanuel Macron at the United Nations climate change conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates. Macron made comments to the press at COP28 describing the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement (FTA) as “antiquated”, reiterating environmental concerns which have been a major obstacle for the trade talks. On 3 December Lula stated that if the deal does not happen, it would not be for “lack of will” on the Brazilian side. International news agency Reuters cited Brazilian diplomatic sources on 2 December as saying that the future of the FTA will depend on the approval of Argentina’s incoming government led by President-elect Javier Milei, which takes office on 10 December. The Brazilian officials cited by Reuters said that there is support for the EU-Mercosur deal within the Milei administration. On the campaign trail, Milei had criticised Mercosur and even suggested withdrawing Argentina from the bloc, but in a visit to Brazil on 26 November Argentina’s incoming foreign minister Diana Mondino toned down the anti-Mercosur rhetoric.

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