During a visit to Portugal, he defended the signing of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. Lula highlighted Portugal’s help in signing the agreement. “We want Portugal to be a commercial partner of Brazil and not just an entry into the European Union,” said Lula alongside Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, in a joint statement after a closed-door meeting.
Lula highlighted that the agreement would open up a market worth US$22 billion and criticized the European parliament that moved resources to prevent the agreement from coming into force.
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“Agricultures in Brazil and the EU are not competitive, but complementary”, defended the Brazilian president, in reference to European countries, mainly France, whose farmers criticize the agreement due to the high competitiveness of Brazilian agribusiness, which would threaten them.
Still dealing with global trade, Lula defended the recovery of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and criticized the former president of the United States, Barack Obama, for not continuing to sign agreements when he took office.
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“Those who defended free trade in the 1980s became protectionists,” said the Brazilian president, who also cited China as an example of gaining competitiveness.
Lula reinforced that Brazil does not accept a cold war in which it would be forced to choose to trade with the USA or China.
