Brussels, 14/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - Complete uncertainty reigns on the exchange of offers on market access between the EU and South American trading bloc, Mercosur. The EU-Brazil summit, that was for a time in doubt, has been maintained.
At the time of going to press, no information had filtered through on the result of the meeting of the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela) in Caracas on 12-13 February - a meeting that was due to enable the Mercosur economies to come to an agreement on their offer on tariff liberalisation for agricultural and industrial products to be exchanged with the EU. Ten years after the failure of the first attempt in 2004, this exchange of offers - initially scheduled for 1 October 2013 - is due to take place in February.
However, uncertainty remains total as to the chances of this exchange taking place before the end of the month. “Both the EU and Mercosur are finalising their offers and are committed to proceed to an exchange as soon as the conditions are met to make an exchange successful. EU and Mercosur negotiators will meet to verify the state of play of both sides”, said De Gucht's spokesperson, John Clancy, on 14 February.
By contrast, after several requests for postponement by Brasilia, the EU-Brazil summit on 24 February and the visit of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff have been confirmed.
EU and South American negotiators have had a dozen sessions of technical discussions since the relaunch of EU-Mercosur negotiations in 2010. The discussions and exchange of tariff offers were upset in 2013 both by trade tensions between the EU and Argentina, and by the temporary suspension of Paraguay from Mercosur. As well as tariff liberalisation, the talks will focus on non-tariff barriers, services, investment and public procurement.
While Brazil and Uruguay are eager to come to an agreement with the EU, particularly to compensate for the loss of trade preferences stemming from a new GSP regime set up in early 2014 (but from which Paraguay still benefits), Argentina - which is increasingly turning in on itself - is less enthusiastic. Leaks from Uruguay hinted at the beginning of the month that Argentina's tariff offer proposal is more conservative than those of its partners, and Buenos Aires doubts that the EU will agree to address the issue of agricultural subsidies effectively. Venezuela will not take part in the negotiations because its process of accession to Mercosur is not totally complete. (EH/transl.fl)