Canada aims to conclude Mercosur trade deal by year-end

Canada wants to conclude a trade agreement with Mercosur before the end of 2026 as it seeks to diversify its economic ties beyond the United States, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said.

Negotiations between Canada and the South American trade bloc had remained stalled for years, but Washington’s tariff offensive brought both sides back to the negotiating table in 2025.

As Canada navigates an increasingly difficult relationship with its largest trading partner and southern neighbor, Anand said on Tuesday, July 14, that Ottawa hoped to complete the Mercosur talks by year-end.

“We agreed to intensify negotiations on the free trade agreement with the aim of concluding them—ideally before the end of 2026,” Anand said after meeting Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in São Paulo.

“We are going to double our trade agreements outside the United States over the coming decades,” she added.

Brazil is leading the negotiations on behalf of Mercosur, whose other full members are Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.

“We have already held six rounds of negotiations, and they are progressing very well,” Vieira said, adding that “a few details still need to be worked out.”

Anand acknowledged concerns in Canada about the potential impact of an agreement on the country’s agricultural sector.

After more than 25 years of intermittent negotiations, Mercosur and the European Union concluded a trade agreement in January. Strong opposition from European farmers had delayed the process for years.

European agricultural groups fear being undercut by lower-priced products from Brazil, a major global farm exporter, and its Mercosur partners. The EU has yet to ratify the agreement, which provisionally entered into force in May.

Source: Folha de São Paulo

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