Mercosur-EU Trade Deal Stalls Again Amid Internal Disagreements

As negotiations falter, Mercosur countries shift focus to other potential trade agreements.

Negotiations for a Mercosur-EU trade deal, which would integrate a market of over 700 million people, about a fourth of the world's gross domestic product, and about $100 billion in bilateral trade of goods and services a year, have been delayed again.
Argentina's outgoing government opposes the agreement, but President-elect Javier Milei, who takes office on Sunday, has expressed support.
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, an advocate of the agreement, met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday in Berlin and said he was still pushing for a breakthrough.
Paraguay, which takes over Mercosur's rotating presidency from Brazil this week, has given up on the prospects of the agreement due to overly strict environmental requirements demanded by some European nations.
Mercosur countries are shifting focus and will sign a free trade agreement with Singapore this week, and are also pursuing deals with Canada and South Korea.