The semi-public consultation period that the European Commission has granted to find out the opinion of all sectors on the modernization of the Association Agreement with Chile will conclude next week. Also next week, a new meeting for the negotiation of the Agreement with Mercosur will be held in Asuncion (Paraguay).
The first meeting for the modernization of the Association Agreement between the EU and Chile, which was signed 14 years ago, took place in November last year, while the second meeting was held in the third week of January. The Commission also launched a private consultation, aimed exclusively at the affected sectors, to find out their opinion. This consultation will also end next week. According to the European Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom, the negotiation of a new agreement is important for the EU because "Chile is the oldest Latin American EU trade partner and a key ally. In addition, the current agreement has substantially increased trade flows between both parties in the last decade and a half."
A new round of negotiations between the European Commission and Mercosur will start next week in Asuncion, Paraguay, as no agreement was achieved in the last round, which was held on January 30. The Commission has reiterated on several occasions that the agreement is close, despite the strong opposition from some agricultural food sectors in different Member States. In France, for example, the National Federation of Agrarian Trade Unions (FNSEA) has issued a statement entitled They shall not pass! in which they state their position regarding the negotiations with Mercosur. In this statement, they say the agreement has crossed all types of red lines regarding economic, sanitary, and environmental issues.
According to the latest official data from the General Directorate of Customs, up until November 2017, Spain only exported 2 tons of fruits and vegetables worth 4,641 euro to Chile, evidencing that there are virtually no Spanish fruit and vegetable exports to this country.
Spanish fruit and vegetable exports to the countries that make up Mercosur: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay, up until November 2017, stood at 95,375 tons and 93.1 million euro. Brazil was the main recipient with 89,113 tons (-6 %) and 88.6 million euro (-15%). Exports to Argentina amounted to 5,071 tons (+11%) and 3.5 million euro (+8%), while exports to Uruguay totaled 1,191 tons (-52%) and 1.06 million euro (-50%). There were no exports to Paraguay. According to FEPEX, the data shows that in the current situation only Brazil offers opportunities for the Spanish sector, while the markets of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay remain closed.