Mercosur leaders meet in Paraguay, Bolsonaro joins online
The 60th Summit of Heads of State of Mercosur—the economic bloc encompassing Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina—is taking place in Asunción on Thursday (Jul 21). This is its first face-to-face gathering since the pandemic began.
After calling off his trip to the Paraguayan capital, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is expected to join the assembly online.
At the event, Paraguay should end the six-month presidency of the bloc, to be occupied next by Uruguay.
On Wednesday (20), the Mercosur Council—a decision-making body with cabinet members from member nations—held its ordinary meeting. Before the change in the pro-tempore presidency, Paraguay’s foreign minister announced the signing of the bloc’s free trade deal with Singapore. The group also agreed to slash its Common External Tariff by ten percent. Brazil had already adopted this measure unilaterally.
Also expected during the assembly, the Brazilian government said, are an agreement to combat femicide and further talks on the expansion of accords with India and Israel. On Thursday, the heads of state of PROSUL, the Forum for the Progress and Integration of South America, should also hold a working breakfast. Chief among the topics is the fight against organized crime across the borders of the region.
This year alone, Brazil exported over BRL 10 billion to Mercosur and imported nearly BRL 9 billion from member countries. Over 90 percent of Brazilian sales to Mercosur is comprised of products from the manufacturing industry, including exports in the auto as well as machinery and equipment sectors, as per official figures.
