European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sealed a massive trade agreement with South America on Friday, in a bold step that threatens to widen a rift between France, which hates the deal, and her native Germany, which loves it, reports Politico.
“Today marks a truly historic milestone,” von der Leyen said after summit talks with leaders of the Mercosur bloc in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.
The agreement, which took 25 years to complete and would create a free-trade zone spanning more than 700 million people, is furiously opposed by France, which fears that a glut of cheap poultry and beef imports would undercut its farmers.
Germany, on the contrary, wanted Brussels to seize the opportunity to open new markets for its flagging exporters. The head of the Federation of German Industry (BDI), Siegfried Russwurm, immediately put out a statement hailing the deal: “This agreement will provide an urgently-needed growth impulse for the German and European economy.”