Brussels, 08/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Despite progress in negotiations, it is unlikely that a bilateral trade pact within the framework of the EU-Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Venezuela in the process of joining) association agreement will be concluded before mid-2011. “I don't think it will be possible to finalise the negotiations completely by the middle of the year”, said Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, speaking in Asunción, the first stop on his visit to Paraguay and Uruguay on 7-9 February. “I can't say when we should be able to finish, but we're going as fast as we can”, he added. He would seem, however, to be losing optimism on the timescale, after hoping that, following a meeting with his Argentine and Brazilian counterparts in Brasilia in mid-September, an agreement could be reached reasonably quickly, ideally before the summer holidays 2011. “What I said in Brazil was that we hoped to make substantial progress by mid-2011” he claimed on Monday, denying any stated hopes of deal by that time. As expected, however, EU and South American negotiators will exchange their first trade offers in Brussels in March, at the fourth round of negotiations following the resumption of talks in 2010.
The trade chapter of the EU-Mercosur association agreement makes provision for going further than obligations imposed on both parties by the WTO, extending trade in goods and services while taking account of sensitivities on both sides. Trade arrangements will also cover investment, public procurement, sustainable development, intellectual property and geographical indications, and competition. It will also include a special agreement on health and plant health standards and a mechanism for settling disputes. (E.H./transl.rt)