Japan and Mercosur are set to negotiate a free-trade agreement, Bras\u00edlia and Tokyo announced in a joint statement released by Brazil’s Foreign Ministry Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The announcement followed a meeting between Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the G7 summit in France.<\/p>\n
Lula’s government has advocated free trade between the South American bloc \u2013\u00a0made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay \u2013\u00a0and external partners such as the European Union, which struck a deal with Mercosur in January.<\/p>\n
\u00abBased on the shared will of all parties, the two leaders announced the launch of negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreement between Mercosur and Japan,\u00bb the joint statement read.<\/p>\n
Talks will begin at the Mercosur summit in Paraguay later this month.<\/p>\n
Lula said he was \u00abvery pleased\u00bb at the prospect of a deal with Japan during his meeting with conservative Takaichi.<\/p>\n
\u00abI hope that at the next Mercosur meeting on June 30 we’ll have good news,\u00bb he added.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump has been threatening to slap tariffs on export-dependent Brazil since last year.<\/p>\n
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\u2013 TIMES\/AFP<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\nrelated news<\/h6>\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n