Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has threatened to withdraw his country from a planned free trade deal with the European Union if leaders fail to endorse it this week.
Talks on the Mercosur trade deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay have been ongoing since 1999 and Brussels is hopeful that EU leaders will give final approval to the agreement on the sidelines of a summit later this week.
However, some member states remain opposed, including France which is pushing for further improvements.
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Lula said if EU leaders don’t finalize the deal before it is set to be officially signed in Brazil on Saturday, the country would no longer support the agreement.
“I have already warned them: if we don’t do it now, Brazil will not make any more deals while I am president,” Lula was quoted as saying by the Folha de São Paulo newspaper.
