BRASILIA, July 27 (Reuters) – Brazil and South Korea agreed to accelerate talks on a potential trade deal between the Asian nation and the South American bloc Mercosur, their presidents said on Monday during a ceremony in Brasilia.
Brazil has been seeking to expand deals — alone or through Mercosur, which also includes Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay — to diversify trade at a time when it is being hit by tariffs from the U.S., one of its key commercial partners.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country and South Korea agreed to create a working group to accelerate the talks, while his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae Myung called a potential deal with Mercosur an urgent matter.
Mercosur has closed deals in recent years with partners including the European Union and the four members of the European Free Trade Association, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
In a phone call earlier on Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Lula said he and Xi supported advancing talks on a potential deal between China and Mercosur.
During the ceremony on Monday, Lula said Brazil will receive a South Korean mission next month for a sanitary evaluation of Brazilian meatpackers. The leaders also agreed to expand cooperation in the critical minerals sector, Lee said.
The event took place five months after Lula attended a summit with Lee in Seoul.
(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia and Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; additional reporting by Andre Romani and Isabel Teles; Editing by Chris Reese and Paul Simao)
