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Mercosur and Canada resume free trade agreement negotiations after years of impasse

  What is happening between Mercosur and Canada? After more than a decade of stalled talks, the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and Canada announced in September 2025 the formal resumption of negotiations for a free trade agreement. The decision was confirmed at a meeting between representatives of the two blocs during the United Nations General Assembly in New York and represents a strategic step toward strengthening economic ties between South and North America. This move is not just symbolic: it could pave the way for one of the largest trade agreements in the South American region in recent years, with direct impacts on the economies of millions of people—from farmers to small business owners. Why does this agreement matter? A free trade agreement between Mercosur and Canada has the potential to eliminate or reduce tariffs on thousands of products, facilitate investment, increase business competitiveness, and generate new job opportunities. For ord...
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G7: Lula confirms attendance at summit and Zelensky requests meeting with Brazilian president


 The Planalto Palace confirmed this Wednesday (11) that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) will participate in the expanded session of the G7 summit, scheduled for the 17th, in Kanazawa, Japan. The information was released by the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic.


During the event, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, showed interest in meeting with Lula and has already formalized the request, according to GloboNews. So far, however, there has been no official confirmation from the Brazilian government regarding the meeting.


 The G7 is made up of seven of the world's largest economies: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan. Although Brazil is not a member of the group, Lula has been invited to participate in the summits since he resumed his presidency in 2023. The invitation to this year's meeting came from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who will host the 2025 edition.


According to a statement from Planalto, Lula considers Brazil's presence essential in the debates on strategic issues such as energy security, critical minerals, international financing, innovation, technology, and artificial intelligence.


The expectation of a possible meeting between Lula and Zelensky is noteworthy due to the recent history of diplomatic friction between the two leaders. Although they met in person in New York and spoke on the phone previously, the dialogue cooled after controversial statements by Lula. In one of them, the Brazilian president suggested that Zelensky should consider a negotiated solution to the conflict with Russia. The Ukrainian, in turn, went as far as to say that Lula is no longer acting as a relevant agent in the peace negotiations.


Despite the tensions, diplomatic channels remain open. Last month, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira had a telephone conversation with Ukrainian Vice-Chancellor Andrii Sybiha. During the conversation, Brazil reiterated its position in favor of direct negotiations between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky as a path to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.


With the G7 summit approaching, the spotlight is turning to the possibility of Lula acting as an intermediary between world powers and countries in conflict, reinforcing Brazil's image as a defender of dialogue and diplomacy in times of international instability.

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