The free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) is not about to be signed, a French diplomatic source estimated on Friday before the trip of the Minister Delegate for Trade outside Brazil.
The EU and Mercosur reached a trade agreement in 2019, after more than twenty years of complex negotiations, but it was not ratified due in particular to European concerns over the environmental policies of the former Brazilian president of far right Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).
“At this stage, the account is not there. There is a very long work to be done with the Mercosur countries on the subject”, declared this diplomatic source during a conference call with journalists.
In April in Spain, Lula confided his hope of reaching an agreement this year.
This source clarified that Olivier Becht, who is going to Brazil on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, was “not going there to negotiate” since the negotiations are at European level. “But the subject will come out” during bilateral exchanges, he acknowledged.
The Minister Delegate will notably meet Geraldo Alckmin, Vice-President and Minister for Development, Trade and Industry, as well as Maria Laura da Rocha, Secretary General of the Ministry of External Relations.
The diplomatic source recalled that it was not for the European Union to renegotiate the terms of the agreement “but to complete them” to add in particular more conditions on the environmental aspect.
France also fears the reaction of its farmers if the agreement is finalized this year, a European source recently indicated, noting that certain countries like Spain nevertheless wanted to move forward on the subject.
European farmers – in particular French farmers – are indeed afraid of seeing more South American foodstuffs subject to less demanding production standards flowing onto the European market. Unlike the EU, Brazil, for example, has not banned antibiotics used as growth promoters from animal feed.
Olivier Becht is going to Brazil and Chile “with the desire to strengthen” the strategic partnership with these two countries, the same diplomatic source also stressed.
He also wants to give a boost to French SMEs to give them access to new markets.
“With both Brazil and Chile, we have enormous economic growth potential because these are two countries in which we are very well anchored to strengthen our presence,” said this source. “But we can do better on our ability to send more SMEs to the Brazilian and Chilean market”.
Olivier Becht will be accompanied by company managers (Airbus Helicopters, Dassault System, Engie, Poma, Spare Parts 3D or even Thales).
On Tuesday, the head of French diplomacy Catherine Colonna will meet with her Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira, according to another diplomatic source. The first source had announced a meeting on Monday.
Catherine Colonna had already met him in February during his trip to Brazil in an effort to relaunch the strategic partnership between France and Brazil.
Diplomatic relations between France and Brazil had deteriorated sharply under the Bolsonaro era (2019-2022), particularly in 2019 when, exasperated by criticism of the gigantic fires in the Amazon, the extreme head of state right and two of his ministers had insulted French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.
The French head of state also plans to visit Brazil this year, but no date has been given.
Dt/jf/as