Brazil rushing to push Mercosur-EU deal over the hump

Roberto Perosa, the deputy minister for trade at the Brazilian Agriculture Ministry, on Thursday said a controversial side letter presented by the European Union to Mercosur (the customs alliance between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay) during negotiations around a free-trade deal had been overcome, and that he expects an agreement to be reached by mid-December.

Environmental setbacks during the former Jair Bolsonaro administration (2019-2022) were a major thorn in Brazil’s side, especially in terms of its global image. Negotiations between the EU and Mercosur hit snags precisely because of environmental concerns. 

In 2019, the two sides had reached an agreement in principle, but ratification has since proved elusive. European countries with strong agricultural lobbies, led by France, cited alleged environmental concerns to block the deal — an argument that was heavily validated by the lack of deforestation controls in Brazil between 2019 and 2022.

In March this year, the EU presented Mercosur with a side letter asking for additional climate commitments, which Brazilian officials have openly condemned.

During an online press conference with foreign reporters, Mr. Perosa said the negotiations are now focused on Mercosur’s response to the side letter — submitted in September — rather than the text presented by the EU.

“Today, we are discussing the points offered by Mercosur,” Mr. Perosa said in response to a question from The Brazilian Report. “The side letter is no longer being analyzed.”

Ratifying the Mercosur-EU free-trade agreement has been a central foreign policy goal established by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. But besides the environmental concerns from the European side, impatience from South American...