Brazil’s VP Alckmin expects Mexico sector trade deals next year

By Kylie Madry

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Brazil and Mexico plan to sign a deal for complementary trade agreements in August of next year, Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said on Thursday after a meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Speaking at a press conference in Mexico City, Alckmin also noted that Brazil could “work together” with Mexico to make electric vehicle batteries, and that Sheinbaum showed interest in Brazil’s biofuel mandate, which orders more biofuels mixed into fossil fuels.

He also noted that officials made the case for Mexico to buy a defense aircraft from Brazilian planemaker Embraer.

Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard earlier in the day said the two countries are looking into sector-specific deals, not a free trade agreement.

“We have complementary agreements, and what we will do is try to update them,” Ebrard said.

Brazil cannot negotiate a free trade deal without going through the Mercosur trade bloc, Alckmin said.

(Reporting by Kylie Madry, Ana Isabel Martinez and Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Daina Beth Solomon and Alistair Bell)