Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and French President Emmanuel Macron presented opposing views on the EU-Mercosur trade deal during a press conference in Paris on Thursday.
Lula, whose country is set to assume Mercosur’s rotating presidency in weeks, declared his intention to finalise the agreement during Brazil’s six-month leadership.
I will step down as president of Mercosur with the [EU-Mercosur] agreement reached.
Macron, however, maintained France’s firm opposition to the current terms, stating the deal would “completely destroy [French] agriculture” if adopted without modifications.
While acknowledging potential benefits for French exports like wine and cheese to Mercosur’s 270-million-consumer market, Macron insisted the agreement requires “either mirror clauses or safeguard measures” to align Brazilian agricultural production with EU standards. These demands reflect longstanding French concerns about competition from South American beef, ethanol, and crop imports.
Lula countered by emphasising complementarity between the regions’ agricultural sectors, noting Brazil’s environmental commitments and quipping that “even if Brazil becomes a wine-producing country, we will continue to import European wine.”
According to parliamentary sources, the European Commission plans to present its revised Mercosur proposal before the Brussels summer recess begins in late July. The disclosure came during a closed-door briefing to MEPs on 20 May, suggesting intensified efforts to break the deadlock after 25 years of intermittent negotiations.
