SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay wants a trade agreement with the European Union to be a “win-win” situation.
Lula has criticized some of the European Union’s requests for the deal, including an addendum attaching sustainability and climate change commitments and introducing penalties for nations failing to comply with climate goals.
“We don’t want impositions on the Mercosur,” Lula said in a live broadcast on social media. “It’s a deal of strategic partners, so one cannot threaten the other. Let’s sit down and work out our differences.”
His remarks come as leaders of the Mercosur gather for a summit in Argentina on Tuesday, with Brazil set to take the group’s temporary presidency.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alistair Bell)
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