Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday that a free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, which is being negotiated in Buenos Aires, should expand to investment opportunities, encompassing more than only tariffs and subsidies.

Speaking at a Brazil-Italy forum, which Lula and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi both addressed, in Sao Paulo, Lula said an agreement between the two blocs would be the best way to deal with the global economic crisis.

“We are noting the commitment of both blocks to win competitive scales and multiply investment opportunities. We are also joining forces in defense of a fairer global order,” he said. (more…)

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that he wishes to boost his country’s trade with Italy.

Earlier in the day, President Lula and Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi participated in a business forum in Sao Paulo, which gathered investors from both countries.

In his speech, Lula said that, in the 2002-08 period, trade between Brazil and Italy increased threefold, totaling 10 billion U.S. dollars. However, the Brazilian president believed those figures can be improved even more. (more…)