MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Alckmin says France wants to delay EU-Mercosur FTA

The world will need to replace aviation kerosene with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), Alckmin also reckoned

Brazil's Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, stated on Friday that France was attempting to delay the signing of the long-negotiated Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur).

Alckmin claimed Paris' stance was due to disagreements over the pact's agricultural chapter, citing European —and specifically French— unease regarding the competitiveness of Brazilian agribusiness.

“Europe is a little wary” of Brazilian agribusiness, Alckmin said at the International Leaders Seminar in São Paulo, explaining that “France is always careful” due to the subsidies it provides to its rural producers.

Despite France's reported opposition, Alckmin maintained that the Brazilian government's baseline scenario remains that the agreement will be signed on December 20, 2025, in the city of Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, during Mercosur's biannual leaders' summit.

“If there are no changes, after 25 years of work, it will be signed on December 20 in Foz do Iguaçu,” Alckmin stressed. “France is trying to push for January, but if it is not signed now, it will be signed soon. Proximity is important for more sustainable development,” he added while admitting that Brazil needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The deal, which has been under negotiation for more than two decades, would form one of the world's largest free trade areas. Brazil is set to hand over the rotating presidency of the Mercosur bloc (Argentina, Bolivia, and Uruguay) to Paraguay at the upcoming summit.