EU ready to restart stalled Mercosur trade deal

The EU and the MERCOSUR bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay concluded talks in 2019, but the deal was put on hold due to concerns, especially in France, about Amazon deforestation and Brazil's commitment to climate change action.

The European Commission has invited MERCOSUR to make clear commitments to sustainable development, on which European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said he is already consulting with EU members and legislators, as well as with MERCOSUR countries.

“We see the next EU-Latin America summit in July as an important milestone towards which we must make decisive progress on this issue,” he said after a meeting of EU trade ministers in Stockholm.

Johan Forssel, trade minister of the Swedish EU Presidency, expressed hope that the process could be completed in the coming months.

“I think there is real support for moving in this direction,” he said at a press conference. "Of course, there are problems, details and technical aspects, but I believe that we are moving in the right direction."

The European Union believes that the defeat of Luiz Inacio Lula by Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil's October presidential election has created a window of opportunity.

Lula promised to rethink Brazil's climate policy.

While Germany pushed for a speedy completion, France said it was waiting for progress in Brazil.
Simon Coveney, Ireland's trade minister, which, like France, fears more beef imports, said fellow ministers believe a final deal could be struck this year.

“There are both strong positives and some negatives,” he said, referring to the likely impact on Ireland. We will try to be constructive in the context of MERCOSUR, while recognizing that Ireland has special problems that we need to try to defend against.”