Canada and South American bloc Mercosur will resume negotiations for a free-trade agreement, Brasilia and Ottawa announced on Monday after a meeting in Brazil’s capital.
Mercosur, whose rotating presidency is currently held by Brazil, is a major exporter of beef, soybeans and minerals. Besides Brazil, the bloc includes Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, while Bolivia is in the process of becoming a full member.
“We have directed our senior trade officials to engage in discussions, including a meeting of chief negotiators in early October, in order to resume Free Trade Agreement negotiations,” Brazil and Canada said in a joint statement.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
Canada signaled renewed interest in restarting talks with Mercosur last month, as part of a broader push to diversify trade away from the United States amid uncertainty caused by tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
“At a time when rules-based trading is being threatened, we need to stand with like-minded partners, as Brazil is, to really build on that structure, to make sure that structure exists, to promote more trade,” Canadian Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told reporters in Brasilia.
Talks between Canada and Mercosur have been stalled since 2021 as South American countries focussed on local issues such as elections, before Trump’s policy shifts reset the trade agenda.
“Brazil and Canada have been affected by measures that distort the legitimate flow of goods and investments, adopted without technical justification,” Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said, calling the October meeting “important” for the progress of the talks.
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Writing by Andre Romani; Editing by Brendan O’Boyle and Kylie Madry)
