Hopes for a Mercosur-EU trade deal fade yet again as leaders meet in Brazil

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and DANIEL POLITI
Associated Press

SAO PAULO (AP) — The heads of state from South America’s Mercosur trade bloc are in Rio de Janeiro for a meeting that is expected to disappoint members hoping to finalize a deal with the European Union. Negotiations with the EU are set to be the gathering’s main topic, and host Brazil had aimed for a swift conclusion to draw out a deal. But the government of Argentina, the bloc’s second-biggest economy, has said it opposes it, while some analysts and observers doubt it will be achieved this year or even the next.