Sealing a free trade agreement with Mercosur after 20 years of talks is the European Union's top priority, the bloc's trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom said on Thursday (13.06.2019).
EU negotiations with the group comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, the world's fourth-largest trading bloc, have intensified since Europe's trade talks with the United States were frozen following Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election.
Malmstrom declined to give a time frame, but said he believed an agreement could be reached during the current European Commission's term, which runs until the end of October..
«There are still some complicated issues, agriculture and some others (…) I think there is a window now to close this, during this Commission. I will do my best. This is the number one priority at the moment.", the official said at an event in Brussels.
Malmstrom stressed that the parties are getting closer. In terms of tariff reduction, it could be the EU's most lucrative trade deal to date, with savings potentially four times greater than those in the pacts with Canada and Japan combined.
"It would be an extremely powerful signal (…) For economic, strategic and political reasons," he added.
@MalmstromEU says that #Mercosur is her number one priority at our #bruegelevent: the «Past, present, and future # EU #trade policy» with , @GuntramWolff and André Sapir. To watch the event in full click here >> https://t.co/2cVC8AfE8d pic.twitter.com/CEoIAXSVO1
— Bruegel (@Bruegel_org) June 13th, 2019
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