Lula says Mercosur ‘gives more’ than EU to reach deal | Policy

“On Saturday we can sign a Mercosur-European Union agreement. We are giving up more than them in this agreement.” said Lula. “The European Union is ready to conclude the agreement, Mercosur is willing to do it and a small problem has emerged: President Macron is very worried about rural producers in France. (French rural producers) think that they will lose their competitiveness in the conflict with Brazil. They are not willing to conclude the agreement now because people are a little rebellious in France. (…) I hope that Macron and Meloni will take responsibility for signing the agreement on Saturday and will not be afraid to lose competitiveness,” added the PT member, during an event at the Palácio do Planalto.

In this sense, Lula argued that agro-industry in Brazil and France is not competitive. “Even though I told him that Brazil does not compete with French agricultural products (they are afraid). In fact, they are different things, they are different qualities (rural products) and we are giving up more to them than them,” maintained the director of the Palácio do Planalto.

Still on this subject, the Brazilian president confirmed that he would go to the Mercosur summit in Foz do Iguaçu this weekend, with the aim of returning with the agreement signed between the blocs. “I am going to Foz do Iguaçu to hold a meeting with the participation of the European Union. I hope that they will bring the good news that they will sign the agreement and that they will not be afraid of losing their competitiveness against the Brazilian people,” he said.

Lula’s criticism comes against the backdrop of the fact that the European Council decided this week to approve a series of new guarantees for the free trade agreement. Initially, according to sources from Valuethe changes do not affect the signing of the final document, scheduled for the 20th of this month.

However, according to those interlocutors of the PT government, the modifications made to the text did not please Brazil, because they are imposed unilaterally, that is to say they were not negotiated with the countries of South America.

In practice, the new safeguards provide that there may be a temporary suspension of tariff preferences on agricultural imports from Mercosur countries if these same imports harm EU producers.

Finally, the head of the Palácio do Planalto recalled once again that his government had managed to resume talks “little by little” with the government of Donald Trump, from the United States. On this subject, Lula suggested that he would like the American authorities to hand over Brazilians linked to organized crime and harbored on American territory.

“We are gradually resuming the conversation with Trump. I told Trump that I want the United States to hand over the organized crime men who are in Miami.”