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Amsterdam, 28 march 2024–French President Emmanuel Macron told a business forum in São Paulo that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the South American Common Market (Mercosur) and the European Union (EU) needed to be ”renegotiated from scratch,”.

During his participation at the Brazil–France Economic Forum, Macron said: “Mercosur is a terrible agreement as it is being negotiated now. This agreement was negotiated 20 years ago. I don’t defend this agreement. It’s not what we want.”

“Let’s put aside an agreement from 20 years ago and build a new, more responsible agreement, taking into account issues such as climate and reciprocity,” Macron argued in defiance of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s stance.

At the same event, Brazil’s Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin highlighted that “Mercosur expanded by one more country this year, which is Bolivia. We made an agreement with Singapore and there have been talks with the European Union. President Lula always says there has to be reciprocity. It’s a win-win situation. We conquer markets, we open markets.”

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad had said that Lula would further push for the agreement as it is. 

“We must not give up on this agreement,” he stressed.

Also at the forum sponsored by the Federation of Industries of São Paulo State (Fiesp), Macron noted that Brazilian companies should have more faith in France given the economic measures taken by the French government, such as job creation and massive investment, in a bid to make his country attractive to business. “We need to accelerate, to go further. France will be the gateway to the European market,” he declared.

He also highlighted the role of Brazil and France in tackling carbon emissions.

The French president met behind closed doors at Fiesp’s headquarters with Haddad, Alckmin, bankers, and executives. After speaking at the event, the French president took part in the inauguration of the Pasteur Institute, at the University of São Paulo (USP); a meeting with young people from the Gol de Letra Foundation with former Brazilian national football team player Raí; and a dinner with Brazilian cultural and sports personalities.

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