Brussels, 09/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 8 May, the Brazilian trade minister, Mauro Borges, said that the countries of the Mercosur bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) would be prepared to exchange their tariff offer with the EU at the end of this month on access to the agricultural and industrial markets, in the framework of the commercial plank of the association agreement under negotiation between the two sides since 1999.
“We are ready to finalise the Mercosur proposal to be presented to the European Union”, Borges announced after a meeting with President of Paraguay Horacio Cartes, and the Paraguayan trade minister, Gustavo Leite. “We plan to meet in Caracas next week, on 12 and 13 May, so that by the end of the month we can be in Brussels to tell the EU that we are ready for the exchange of proposals”, the Brazilian minister said.
Speaking to EUROPE on Friday 9 May, the Commission declined to confirm that it had been approached for a meeting date. There is “nothing new” on the EU-Mercosur negotiations front, said European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, following the meeting of the European trade ministers on Thursday 8 May.
Reported in the South American press, Borges indicated in early May that the global South American tariff reduction would cover 90% of products traded with the EU. The Brazilian trade minister was very active in convincing Argentina to get behind the joint offer and to move forward trade talks with the EU, which were resumed in 2010 after being on ice for six years.
In addition to tariff liberalisation, the EU-Mercosur trade negotiations cover non-tariff barriers, services, investment in public procurement. Venezuela, a newcomer to the South American side and still in its adaptation phase, is not a party to the negotiations. (EH)