Brussels, 07/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - The process for an exchange of market access offers during the last quarter of 2015 continues on track following the technical level meeting of EU and Mercosur chief negotiators in Asuncion on 1-2 October. (Mercosur comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela - although Venezuela is not participating in the EU-Mercosur negotiations.)
The meeting was described as “constructive” by the European Commission, and it enabled an exchange of additional information on the respective market access offers of the two blocs - offers covering agricultural and industrial products, services and public procurement.
“The target is to exchange market access offers within the last quarter of 2015, but more important than the date is that we are sure that the conditions for a successful exchange are met”, the Commission told EUROPE. The two sides are now “evaluating” the information exchanged by the chief negotiators “so as to determine the best way forward”. The goal is for both sides to be “confident on the level of ambition” of their respective offers before proceeding to an exchange.
On the sidelines of the EU-Latin America summit on 11 June, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and the trade ministers of the Mercosur countries reaffirmed the two blocs' commitment to concluding the laborious free trade negotiations that started in 1999 and were then relaunched in 2010 after being put on ice for six months. Malmström and the Mercosur trade ministers had agreed to proceed to an exchange of offers on market access before the end of 2015.
Brazil's industry wants to accelerate talks with the EU in the face of TPP. The Brazilian national confederation of industry (CNI) has underlined its fears about the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) following the announcement, on 5 October, of this free trade agreement between 12 countries from the Pacific area - including the US and Japan. Fearing that TPP might harm Brazilian industry by reducing its market share in the 12 TPP signatory countries to which Brazil exported products worth $31 billion in 2014 (35% of its exports), the CNI has called on Brazil and Mercosur to accelerate their trade negotiations with other partners - particularly the EU. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)