The European Union and Mercosur began a new round of negotiations on Monday (9.7.2018) in Brussels to seal their trade agreement, after weeks in which both blocs have warned of a lack of commitment and flexibility to close a treaty that has been delayed for almost two decades.
The round of negotiations is expected to last until Friday (13.7.2018) and brings together the chief negotiators with teams of experts from both blocs to seek consensus on the issues on which they have not yet reached an agreement.
Thorny chapters
The most thorny chapters continue to be the automobiles, automotive parts, geographical indications, maritime transport and dairy products, all of which are key issues that must be closed before being able to make the "leap" to the political level in the negotiations.
Necessary step
The transition from conversations to a more personal profile political Instead of a technical one, with European commissioners and foreign ministers instead of negotiators, it does not guarantee a positive result, but it is a necessary step before reaching a political agreement on the pact.
The last contacts between the European bloc and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) had been a technical discussion in mid-May and a round of negotiations held between June 4 and 8 in Montevideo (Uruguay).
However, the latest meetings have been marked by the previous statements of community spokespersons and Mercosur foreign ministers, who have warned each other of lack of commitment and flexibility in their offers, which limits the possibilities of a consensus.
Celac-EU
The foreign ministers will be in Brussels anyway to participate in the 16 & 17 of July at a meeting between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the EU.
The final phase of the agreement with Mercosur, which has been negotiating an association agreement since 2000 but has made faster progress since 2016, comes in a context of trade tensions between the United States and its other partners over their tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Source: Reuters
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