A new round of negotiations between the European Commission and Mercosur concluded on Friday. The Association agreement could be signed before the end of the year, or even during this week, when the Eleventh Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization is celebrated in Argentina.
According to declarations of different representatives of the countries that form Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay), the conference of the OMC, which is being celebrated since yesterday, could be a possible scenario to announce a political agreement between both parts, even though there are still some pending technical issues that would be resolved at the beginning of 2018.
Community fruit and vegetable exports to the Mercosur countries in 2016 amounted to 241.3 million euro, according to data from the European Statistical Office of the EU, Eurostat. Brazil was the first destination of Community exports to this group of countries, with 226 million euro, while exports to Argentina only amounted to 9.9 million euro, to Uruguay 5.4 million euro, and to Paraguay 38,000 euro.
EU fruit and vegetable imports from Brazil in 2016 amounted to 628.1 million euro, while imports from Argentina amounted to 513 million euro, from Uruguay to 43 million euro, and there were no imports from Paraguay.
The agricultural pillar of negotiations is one of the most complex axes of the 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization being held in Buenos Aires, as it includes the discussion on direct subsidies to agriculture. In this meeting, the agricultural negotiation will focus on the domestic support policy of the different countries or groups of countries that make up the WTO, as reported in the last meeting of the Consultative Commission on International Negotiations of the Ministry of Economy, number XVII, which was held in October.
According to FEPEX, negotiations at the multilateral level, such as those of the WTO, and agreements of a bilateral nature between the EU and third countries, such as those of Mercosur, must take into account European values, as set out in the Communication of the Commission of October 14, 2015 regarding commercial policy. According to this Communication, entitled "Trade for all: more responsible trade and investment policy", the EU has high levels of protection for consumers, the environment, and labor and social rights that must be maintained, and "the use of trade agreements and preference programs should serve as levers to promote these values throughout the world."
Source: fepex.es