{"text":[[{"start":13.19,"text":"Canada and the Mercosur bloc of South American nations are aiming to agree a free trade deal by the end of 2026, as US protectionism spurs efforts by other countries to deepen cross-border commerce."}],[{"start":28.34,"text":"Against a backdrop of aggressive tariffs from Washington that have included measures targeting Canada and Brazil, the two sides restarted negotiations on a potential accord in October."}],[{"start":41.82,"text":"The resumption kick-started a process that first began in 2018, when Canada in particular faced similar trade turbulence during the first Donald Trump administration. Those talks were paused three years later amid the Covid-19 pandemic."}],[{"start":60.5,"text":"“Along with our partners, we are actively working towards concluding these talks within the next year,” said Canada’s minister of international trade Maninder Sidhu, who travelled to Brasília in August to meet his counterpart."}],[{"start":75.28999999999999,"text":"The aim was confirmed by two other officials from countries involved in the talks who spoke to the Financial Times. "}],[{"start":82.88999999999999,"text":"Mercosur includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Bolivia in transition to full membership. The group has significant producers of agricultural and mineral commodities, with soyabeans, crude oil, iron ore and beef among its top exports. "}],[{"start":103.57999999999998,"text":"While Brazil’s bilateral merchandise trade with Canada is by far the largest in the Mercosur bloc, standing at $12.7bn in 2024, it is a small fraction of the more than $760bn of total goods exchanged between Canada and the US."}],[{"start":124.10999999999999,"text":"Trump’s mercantilist “America first” trade policy was a factor in the revival of the Canada-Mercosur pact, said two officials with knowledge of the discussions."}],[{"start":135,"text":"Ottawa has been hit with stringent US tariffs on highly integrated cross-border industries including softwood lumber, steel, aluminium and the car sector. Washington also imposed a 50 per cent import tax on Brasília in 2025, but has since removed the duties on several Brazilian foodstuffs."}],[{"start":157.94,"text":"Canada’s industry minister Mélanie Joly told the FT the country was looking across the world for new deals, such as with Mercosur, in a push to diversify from the US."}],[{"start":169.77,"text":"“We have many of these deals that are good on paper, but our businesses are not necessarily exporting to these different jurisdictions, these different markets, so we need to do more of that,” she said."}],[{"start":182.81,"text":"But some observers were sceptical about a possible Canada-Mercosur agreement, given the degree of overlap in exports and the tendency of trade negotiations to drag on."}],[{"start":195.01,"text":"Barry Appleton, a Toronto-based international trade lawyer, said Canadians had been “very slow” to take advantage of significant market opportunities in Latin America."}],[{"start":205.95999999999998,"text":"“One of the problems is that Mercosur and Canada compete to trade many of the same primary products in the global markets,” he said."}],[{"start":214.70999999999998,"text":"The talks aim to introduce zero tariffs on most goods, said one person directly involved in discussions. Since a meeting between chief negotiators in October, working groups have been dealing with specific topics including but not limited to tariffs, small and medium-sized businesses and anti-dumping, they added. "}],[{"start":236.89,"text":"“There’s a videoconference almost every day,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, adding that more in-person talks were expected in early 2026. "}],[{"start":248.54,"text":"Another official said: “The priority is getting something viable done fast. It doesn’t have to be all-encompassing.”"}],[{"start":257.28999999999996,"text":"Mercosur’s long-awaited free trade agreement with the EU was supposed to have been finalised in December but was delayed again following protests by European farmers. Brussels said it hoped to sign the deal in January."}],[{"start":280.21999999999997,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1766963102_5632.mp3"}