Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said, this Friday (9), that the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union should be signed in the “next few days” and that the Brazilian government hopes it will come into force in 2026. 
For this to happen, Alckmin explained in a press interview that it is necessary to “internalize”. This means that the European Parliament and the Congresses of each Mercosur country (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) must approve the trade pact. Alckmin highlighted that society will benefit from cheaper and better quality products.
“If the Brazilian Congress votes in the first half of the year, we will not depend on Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, for it to come into force”, stated Alckmin.
Employment and investments
Geraldo Alckmin highlighted that the agreement has the potential to generate jobs and investments for Brazil.
“We should have more European investments in the Mercosur region and in Brazil, and more Brazilian investments in the 27 European countries”, added Alckmin.
The vice president highlighted that the agreement strengthens multilateralism, to the detriment of isolationism. To value the potential of the agreement, Alckmin listed that the European Union is the country’s second largest trading partner and is second only to China. Even the trade flow (adding up exports and imports) last year was US$ 100 billion.
An example is that the Brazilian manufacturing industry alone exported US$23.6 billion to the European Union, which represented a 5.4% growth in this sector (for the world, this increase was 3.8%).
“The European Union was the first or second export destination for 22 Brazilian states [no ano passado]”, highlighted the vice-president. Alckmin also noted that 30% of Brazilian exporters sell products to that continent, which represents more than 9 thousand Brazilian companies. “These exporting companies employ more than three million workers”.
Sustainability
Alckmin pointed out that the agreement enables trade with rules and also strengthens sustainability by generating commitments from countries to combat climate change. “It’s a win-win. Whoever is more competitive sells.”
The vice-president also considered that the agreement becomes even more fundamental taking into account the “difficult, unstable and conflicting” geopolitical moment.
“(The agreement) shows that it is possible to build a path of trade with rules, of commercial openness and of strengthening not isolationism, but multilateralism.”
Historic decision
The approval of the commercial agreement with Mercosul was confirmed this Friday by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, by “a large majority of the countries that make up the European Union (EU)”.
“The Council’s decision to support the EU-Mercosur agreement is historic”, wrote Ursula in a post on the microblog X. “We are committed to creating growth, jobs and guaranteeing the interests of European consumers and companies”, wrote the president of the commission.
