SAO PAULO (AP) — Heads of state from South America’s Mercosur trade bloc were in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday for a meeting all but certain to once again disappoint members hoping to finalize a long-delayed deal with the European Union.
Negotiations with the EU were set to be the gathering’s main topic, and host Brazil had aimed for a swift conclusion to finalize a deal. However, the outgoing government of Argentina, the bloc’s second-biggest economy, has already said it opposes the agreement, although right-wing President-elect Javier Milei, who will be sworn in on Sunday, has expressed support.
Brazil’s leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is an advocate of the agreement that has been in the works for two decades. His main partners so far have been Spain, which holds the presidency of the EU, and Germany.
Paraguay and Uruguay are also a part of the bloc and the membership of Bolivia, which has been in the process of joining, is expected to be announced Thursday.
A Mercosur-EU trade agreement would mean the integration of a market of over 700 million people, about a fourth of the world’s gross domestic product…
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