Brazil Considers the Prospect of Free Trade

Diverging interests of Mercosur's most dominant members, Brazil and Argentina, are stressing the trading bloc's unity. Brasilia needs sustainable economic growth and thus is searching for other consumer markets. In fact, the government recently has come out in favor of speeding up negotiations with the European Union for a free trade agreement. But Brazil's main trading partner in Mercosur, Argentina, is much less enthusiastic, and Buenos Aires can be expected to prolong the negotiations as long as possible. This is a troubling prospect for Brasilia, given that any free trade agreement requires unanimous Mercosur approval.