SAO PAOLO/ASUNCION - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Saturday that the free trade agreement between the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the EU protects vulnerable sectors and represents a direct response to rising protectionism and unilateralism.
In an opinion article published by several media outlets, Lula said that at a time when "unilateralism isolates markets and protectionism restrains global growth," Mercosur and the EU chose "a different path."
The deal, struck after more than 25 years of negotiations, covers about 700 million people across 31 countries, with a combined GDP around 25 percent of the world's total, making it one of the biggest free trade areas in the world.
Lula said the agreement will expand mutual access to strategic markets under "clear, predictable and balanced" rules, boosting investment, exports and transatlantic production chains.
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According to Lula, the approved version of the agreement safeguards the interests of vulnerable sectors while ensuring environmental protection and the pact is expected to benefit sectors ranging from bioeconomy to high-tech industries, as well as small and medium-sized farmers and businesses, while offering consumers greater choice at lower prices.
He said the pact would also contribute to "active, representative, inclusive and fair" system of global governance, adding that "multilateralism remains relevant and indispensable in the face of growing political extremism and protectionism."
Lula said the signing marks only the first step, warning that the success of the deal will depend on its "swift and transparent" implementation and how quickly its benefits reach markets, farms, factories and citizens.
"It is a win-win agreement, without any form of imposition or subordination," said Edinho Silva, president of Brazil's Workers' Party, in a statement.
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According to Silva, the deal stands in contrast to the US acts of economic oppression or moves seeking territorial expansion.
The free trade agreement signed on Saturday in Asuncion now awaits approval by the European Parliament, as well as ratification by the legislatures of Mercosur member states Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The signing ceremony was attended by senior EU and Mercosur officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, together with the foreign ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
