Canada's International Trade Minister said on Thursday that there was interest from both sides to advance trade talks with South American bloc Mercosur, as Ottawa seeks new deals in a push to diversify from the US, reported Reuters.
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his team have been locked in talks with US President Donald Trump to hash out a trade deal by August 1, which could help reduce tariffs on Canada.
But his government is also preparing to rely less on a relationship that generated bilateral trade of over C$1 trillion ($727.33 billion) last year and to focus on diversifying trade by signing free trade pacts globally.
"I had conversations with the foreign minister of Brazil, and there is appetite to carry out conversations around Mercosur," Minister Maninder Sidhu said in an interview with Reuters.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had said in April that he was interested in advancing talks for a trade deal between South America's Mercosur bloc and Canada.
Mercosur - which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay - has had negotiation rounds for a trade deal with Canada in the past.
Canada is also keen to continue talks with China to address trade challenges and views a thawing of relations between India and Canada as an important step to support trade, the Minister said.
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