LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

May 9, 2023

What Would an E.U.-Mercosur Trade Agreement Bring?

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva travelled to Europe last month, in an effort to promote a pending trade deal between the European Union and the South American Mercosur trade bloc. // File Photo: European Parliament.

Q

A

Thomas Andrew O’Keefe, president of the Mercosur Consulting Group: “One of the interesting features of the 2019 E.U.-Mercosur Association Agreement was a provision that required Brazil to halt Amazonian deforestation. Given that former Brazilian President Jair ‘Chainsaw’ Bolsonaro’s four-year regime was marked by massive fires, illegal logging and mining, and massacres of Indigenous peoples and human rights defenders throughout the Amazon, this allowed E.U. governments to delay ratification. Lula’s return to the Brazilian presidency and his renewed commitments to safeguarding the Amazon removes the environmental fig leaf and reopens the divide between E.U. countries who favor free trade and those who oppose it. In the protectionist camp is France, whose farmers fear competition from their Mercosur peers—even though Mercosur’s most dynamic agricultural exports are completely excluded from the trade agreement or subject to…”

Top News

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Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Monday appointed ally Gabriel Galípolo to the board of the central bank.
Mexico Lays Out Plan to Attract Investment
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The Inter-American Dialogue publishes the Latin America Advisor every business day for a distinguished membership of informed corporate leaders, scholars, and government officials invested in Latin America’s development and future. The Advisor‘s highly regarded Q&A section covers questions submitted by subscribers themselves. Commentators regularly include heads of state, business leaders, diplomats, economists, analysts, and thought leaders from around the world. Many of the world’s largest and fastest-growing companies subscribe to the Advisor. To subscribe, click here. For terms and conditions, click here. For more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.

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Gene Kuleta
Editor
P. 202.463.2920
E. gkuleta@thedialogue.org

Carl David
Goette-Luciak
Reporter

Nili Blanck
Reporter

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Diego Arria
Director,
Columbus Group

Merike Blofield
Professor of Political Science,
University of Hamburg

Devry Boughner Vorwerk
CEO,
DevryBV Sustainable Strategies

Joyce Chang
Global Head of Research,
J.P. Morgan

Marlene Fernández
Corporate Vice President for Gov’t Relations,
Arcos Dorados (McDonald’s)

Peter Hakim
President Emeritus,
Inter-American Dialogue

Donna Hrinak
Director,
Adtalem Global Education

Jon E. Huenemann
Council Member,
GLG Inc.

James R. Jones
Chairman,
Monarch Global Strategies

Craig Kelly
Senior Director,
Int’l Gov’t Relations,
Exxon Mobil

Barbara Kotschwar
Professor of Political Economy,
Georgetown University

John Maisto
Director,
US Education Finance Group

Nicolas Mariscal
Chairman,
Grupo Marhnos

Thomas F. McLarty III
Chairman,
McLarty Associates

Beatrice Rangel
Director,
AMLA Consulting

Ernesto Revilla
Head of Latin American Economics, Citi

Gustavo Roosen
President,
IESA

Andrés Rozental
President, Rozental &
Asociados

Shelly Shetty
Managing Director,
Sovereigns, Fitch

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