The French president, Emmanuel Macroncrossed out “very bad” the free trade agreement negotiated between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) and proposed making “a new one”during the second day of his visit to Brazil.
The deal “as currently negotiated is a very bad deal for you and for us,” he said at an economic forum in Sao Paulo.
The pact, which has been negotiated since 1999, plans to eliminate most of the tariffs between the two zones, creating a commercial space for more than 700 million consumers.
But it is stranded by France’s declared rejection and reluctance within the European Commission.
“In this agreement there is nothing that takes into account the issue of biodiversity and climate. Nothing! That’s why I say it’s not good at all,” Macron emphasized before an audience with Brazilian businessmen.
The French president called for building another agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia), which involves environmental issues.
“We have been negotiating with Mercosur for 20 years. Let’s make a new agreement (…) that is responsible from a development, climate and biodiversity point of view,” he insisted.
After a political agreement in 2019, the opposition of several countries, including France, blocked its final adoption, a rejection that has been reinforced by the agricultural crisis that is shaking Europe. Other countries such as Germany and Spain advocate its adoption.
On the other hand, the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is a declared enthusiast of the free trade agreement. At the beginning of March, he was optimistic about closing it, during a visit by the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, who also advocates for it.
Macron passed through Brazil’s financial capital after leading with Lula the morning of the inauguration of a Franco-Brazilian submarine near Rio de Janeiro.
The event served to praise the strategic partnership between the two countries.
The submersible “Tonelero”, conventionally powered and manufactured with French cooperation at the Itaguaí naval shipyard, was baptized with the blow of a bottle of sparkling wine by the Brazilian first lady, Rosangela da Silva, Janja.
The two leaders stressed the importance of that partnership in a world marked by wars and global disruptions.
“It will allow two important countries (…) to prepare so that we can live with that diversity without worrying about any type of war because we are defenders of peace,” Lula said.
The Cooper is the third of four conventionally powered Scorpenes planned under Prosub, a $7.2 billion program to develop Brazilian submarines and their industry.
The “Angostura”, the last of these specimens destined to protect the 8,500 km of coasts of the Latin American giant, must be launched into the sea in 2025.
The agreement with France, which dates back to 2008, also provides for a fifth submersible, which would be Brazil’s first with nuclear propulsion.
“I want us to open a chapter for new submarines (…), that we look head-on at nuclear propulsion while being perfectly respectful of all non-proliferation commitments,” Macron said.
“France will be with you,” added the French president.
Brasilia seeks to convince Paris to increase its technology transfer to integrate the reactor and to sell it equipment linked to nuclear propulsion (turbine, generator).
“If Brazil wants to access knowledge of nuclear technology, it is not to wage war. We want it to guarantee all countries that want peace that Brazil will be at their side,” Lula declared.
On Tuesday, the first day of the visit, Macron and Lula announced a program to raise 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) to invest in sustainable economy projects in the Brazilian and French-Guyanese Amazon.
France is the third largest investor in Brazil, with nearly $38 billion, according to data from the Brazilian government.
Macron will meet again on Thursday in Brasilia with Lula, on his last day of his official visit.
Source: Ambito
