Brussels, 16/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - Argentina has made substantial progress in preparing Mercosur's offer to the EU on market access. Brazil has announced a decisive meeting for 29 April.
The head of the Argentinian Cabinet of Ministers, Jorge Capitanich, confirmed on 15 April during a daily press conference that “substantial progress” had been made in the elaboration of the joint proposal from Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela) in the offer of tariff liberalisation for agricultural and industrial products for trade between South America and the EU. In a reference to the results from the most recent Mercosur technical meeting last week in Montevideo, Capitanich also warned that any agreement with the EU “will be done in the defence of Argentinian industry, production and trade”.
Last week a spokesperson fror the Brazilian Department of Trade, quoted by the Latin American MercoPress agency, suggested that Mercosur could finalise its offer by the end of the month. A new technical meeting is expected to take place in Montevideo on 29 April. The Brazilian source also confirmed that the “change in attitude” displayed by Argentina, which has now adopted a more flexible position, has allowed the South American bloc to make progress, after successive delays and obstacles.
After around ten or so technical discussion sessions since the relaunch of negotiations in 2010, the exchange of offers on market access between the EU and Mercosur, initially planned for autumn 2013, was also upset by both Paraguay's temporary suspension from the South American bloc (following the Parliamentary putsch in 2012) and the trade tensions between the EU and Argentina and the difficulties Mercosur had in agreeing its offer. In addition to tariff liberalisation, this agreement (negotiations on which were initially launched in 1999, then put on hold between 2004 and 2010) will cover non-tariff barriers, services, investment and public procurement. The new country on the South American bloc, Venezuela, is currently involved in its adaptation phase and is not part of the negotiations.
According to leaks received in March, there was a significant disparity between the willingness of Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to remove customs duties on 90% of products and the Argentinian proposal which only covered 80% of products. (EH)