EU-Mercosur trade deal hangs in the balance
FT News Briefing
Forhecz Topher
4.4 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 16 December 2025
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Shell’s merger chief departed after a bid to acquire rival BP was quashed internally, and the EU’s top trade official warns the bloc would lose global credibility if it fails to approve its trade deal with the Mercosur group of South American countries. Plus, Brussels plans to scrap the EU’s 2035 combustion engine ban, and hedge funds and trading firms are piling into physical commodities markets in search of new sources of returns.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Shell mergers chief departed after CEO blocked bid for BP
EU will lose face if it rejects Mercosur deal, warns trade commissioner
Brussels plans to scrap 2035 combustion engine ban
Hedge funds pile into commodities in search of fresh source of returns
Note: The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts
Today’s FT News Briefing was hosted and produced by Sonja Hutson. Our show was mixed by Kelly Garry. Additional help from Gavin Kallmann, Michael Lello and David da Silva. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show’s theme music is by Metaphor Music.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Good morning from the Financial Times. |
| 0:04.5 | Today is Tuesday, December 16th, and this is your FT News Briefing. |
| 0:10.5 | Looks like Shells not so interested in BP, and a European trade deal decades in the making could be in jeopardy. |
| 0:19.3 | Plus, hedge funds are diving into a new market, physical commodities. |
| 0:24.7 | I'm Sonia Hudson, and here's the news you need to start your day. |
| 0:37.1 | Shell's CEO shot down an internal proposal to buy the company's rival BP this year. |
| 0:43.8 | And after that, Shell's head of mergers and acquisitions left the company. |
| 0:48.4 | This is according to several people familiar with the situation. |
| 0:52.3 | Its M&A team argued that BP's falling share price and management |
| 0:56.4 | turmoil opened up an opportunity. The thought was that a deal would help Shell solve its growth |
| 1:02.3 | problems. But CEO Yel-Swan believed it would be challenging to combine two of Britain's biggest |
| 1:08.7 | companies. The internal opposition means Shell probably won't try to make a deal for BP |
| 1:14.6 | when restrictions on bidding end later this month. |
| 1:18.0 | Shell told the F.T., it had, quote, |
| 1:19.9 | previously made a clear statement on its lack of interest in BP |
| 1:23.6 | and had nothing to add to it. |
| 1:36.4 | The European Union is supposed to vote on a trade deal this week with the South American Mercosur countries. |
| 1:38.7 | France wants to delay the vote, and now the EU's top trade official has issued a stark warning. |
| 1:46.1 | Postponing could sink the deal and cause the block to lose its global credibility. |
| 1:51.7 | The FTs Andy Bounds covers European trade, and he joins me now. |
| 1:55.4 | Hi, Andy. |
| 1:56.3 | Hi, Sonia. |
... |
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