South Korea Pushes for Korea-Mercosur Trade Agreement, Strengthens Mineral Cooperation with Brazil

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced today (the 29th) that it is pursuing the prompt conclusion of the South Korea-Mercosur (Common Market of the South) Trade Agreement (TA), taking advantage of President Lee Jae-myung’s state visit to Brazil.

During a summit with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the 27th, President Lee agreed to advance negotiations for a trade agreement between South Korea and Mercosur, and reached an agreement to form and operate a working-level consultative body for this purpose.

The Ministry stated, "We plan to establish a solid foundation not only to resume negotiations—by exploring market access opportunities for mutually exported items, analyzing market-opening sensitivities, and enhancing understanding of key issues—but also to accelerate the eventual conclusion of the pact."

During the tour, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan held a bilateral meeting with Brazilian Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira and issued a joint statement to strengthen cooperation on core and strategic minerals, including rare earths.

This marks the first time that the two governments have specified the direction of cooperation in the core and strategic minerals sector in a joint document.

The joint declaration explicitly designates rare earths as a key target for cooperation and outlines plans to expand collaboration across the entire mineral value chain, including ▲ local processing, refining, and value creation; ▲ technology transfer and research and development (R&D); ▲ responsible mining; ▲ workforce development; and ▲ investment in the midstream and downstream sectors.

Minister Kim proposed that Minister Silveira visit South Korea within the year to hold follow-up discussions, and Minister Silveira agreed.

Meanwhile, POSCO International and Meteoric Resources, which is pursuing a rare earth mining project in Caldeira, Brazil, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focusing on heavy rare earth offtake (long-term purchase agreements) and financial cooperation.

Minister Kim also held separate meetings with the two companies to discuss project schedules and government-level support measures to secure a stable rare earth procurement base.

In addition, the Ministry hosted the South Korea-Brazil Business Roundtable in São Paulo on the 28th, attended by about 40 participants including our nation's president, government officials from both countries, and business leaders.

During the event, participating companies and institutions also signed six MOUs in areas such as joint industrial and technology R&D, export and investment cooperation, AI-based epilepsy treatment innovation and digital health, meat supply chain cooperation and strategic partnerships, and civil aviation and aerospace cooperation.

Including POSCO International, a total of seven private-sector MOUs were signed during the tour.

Minister Kim emphasized, "This served as a valuable opportunity for both countries to create complementary and mutually beneficial growth opportunities based on our respective strengths. If South Korea's advanced technological prowess combines with Brazil's abundant resources, it will provide new momentum for a leap forward for enterprises in both nations."

In addition, Minister Kim signed the South Korea-Brazil Industrial and Technological Cooperation MOU with Brazilian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Luciana Santos, in the presence of the leaders of both countries.

During a separate bilateral meeting with Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Elias Jabbour, it was agreed to continue discussing cooperation measures through the South Korea-Brazil Trade and Production Integration Committee established in February.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.