Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced during the G20 Summit in South Africa that a free-trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union will be signed Dec. 20 at the bloc's Leaders Summit in Foz do Iguaçu, in the state of Paraná.
The European Union and the bloc made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay concluded negotiations on the agreement last December, about 26 years after talks began.
The deal aims to boost trade between the two blocs by gradually reducing or eliminating 90% of tariffs and other barriers that have historically limited commerce.
Lula said the economic scale of the pact will cover more than 720 million people and a combined gross domestic product of $22 trillion, making what he said would be "the largest trade agreement in the world." He added that once the deal is signed, an intensive phase will begin to turn the text into concrete results.
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