Lula threatens to walk away if further delays to EU-Mercosur trade deal

Brazilian president says it is now or never after Italy joins France in saying it is not ready to sign trade deal.Published On 17 Dec 2025Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has warned he may abandon a long-awaited trade deal between members of the South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union after key countries sought a delay.The Brazilian leader issued the threat on Wednesday after Italy joined fellow heavyweight France in saying it was not ready to commit to the pact to create the world’s biggest free-trade area.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Brazil’s soya moratorium slowed Amazon deforestation. Now it’s challengedlist 2 of 4EU and South America’s Mercosur bloc announce ‘win-win’ free trade deallist 3 of 4France calls to delay vote on EU-Mercosur trade deallist 4 of 4Why are French farmers objecting to EU-Mercosur trade deal?end of listThe EU had expected its 27 member states to approve the deal in time for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to fly to Brazil to sign an agreement with the host, along with Mercosur partners Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, on Saturday.“I’ve already warned them: If we don’t do it now, Brazil won’t make any more agreements while I’m president,” Lula told a cabinet meeting.“We have given in on everything that diplomacy could reasonably concede.”‘Premature’ to sign: MeloniThe deal, more than two decades in the making, has been keenly backed by economic powerhouse Germany, along with Spain and the Nordic countries, amid rising Chinese competition and recent United States tariffs, which have increased the incentive to diversify trade.It would allow the EU to export more vehicles, machinery, spirits and wine to Latin America, and more beef, sugar, rice, honey and soya beans to flow in the opposite direction.France, eager to protect its agriculture industry, had already called for a delay on a vote to approve the deal, and gained the support necessary to potentially block the agreement when Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday that Rome was also not ready.“It would be premature to sign the deal in the coming days,” she told parliament, saying that some of the safeguards Italy is seeking on behalf of farmers were yet to be finalised.