A few hours after the departure of the South American negotiators, Matthias Jørgensen, negotiator for the European Commission, briefed MEPs on the progress of trade negotiations with Mercosur on Tuesday 20 November at the European Parliament.
After ten days of "intense" negotiations that allowed coverage of all topics at the technical and political levels, progress has been made, but in a very uneven manner.
Progress has been made on rules of origin, including vessel conditions and exclusive economic zones. The chapter on transparency of the anti-fraud text is concluded, as are the chapters on sustainable development (except on the issue of the precautionary principle). Good progress has been made on access to public procurement, subsidies, as well as on the 'cars' annex and technical barriers to trade.
Progress is more mixed on state-owned enterprises, export duties, and services.
As for geographical indications (GIs), negotiations are at an impasse, particularly on certain GIs that the EU is determined to protect. The same applies to maritime services, the 'car' package (especially the rules of origin for cars and car parts), textiles and footwear, as well as market access for dairy products, wine, olive oil and canned peaches.
Several MEPs fear that the election of Mr Bolsonaro as President of Brazil will have a negative impact on these negotiations.
No new meeting date has been set. (original version in French by Hermine Donceel)