Canada and Mercosur will announce the opening of negotiations for a free trade agreement during the annual meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Argentina in December, sources told Reuters this week.
The governments of Mercosur's four full members - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - have approved the talks, said the sources, who requested anonymity because details of the deliberations are private.
In Canada, the talks still need to be approved by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet, but that is seen as a formality, one of the sources added.
Asked by Reuters, a spokesman for the Canadian Minister of International Trade, Francois-Philippe Champagne, said the country “confirms that there is an opportunity for an agreement with Mercosur and that we will continue with exploratory talks".
Brazil's Foreign Ministry, which is handling the negotiations, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes met with Champagne this week at a WTO meeting in Morocco.
After the meeting, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in which “He acknowledged that there is great potential for the development of a more ambitious trade relationship.".
Trade between Mercosur and Canada is currently small, but there are significant areas for growth, the sources said. According to the Brazilian government, trade between the parties in 2016 was worth 5.880 billion, about a tenth of the trade between Mercosur and the United States.
The Brazilian government has identified opportunities in the industrial sector as well as in agriculture, where significantly different climates would allow exports to be complementary rather than competitive, one of the sources added.
Source: Reuters
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