The countries of the European Union approved the agreement with Mercosur last Friday, January 9, after more than 25 years of negotiations, representing a historic step towards the creation of the world’s largest free trade area.

The agreement, which will be signed on January 17 in Asunción, Paraguay, must be approved by the European Parliament. It “includes several clauses designed to appease the opposition of farmers, who have staged strong protests in several countries of the bloc.”

Pablo Quirno, Argentina’s foreign minister, indicated on Friday that this is the most ambitious agreement between the two blocs. For her part, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated: “We are creating a market of 700 million people: the largest free trade area in the world. Our message to the world is this: collaboration creates prosperity and openness drives progress.”

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said it was “a historic day for multilateralism despite an international landscape of growing protectionism and unilateralism.”

However, there is strong resistance to the agreement from the European agricultural sector due to the potential “impact of a massive influx of South American meat, rice, honey, and soybeans, in exchange for the export of European vehicles, machinery, cheeses, and wines to Mercosur.”

In this regard, France is the main opponent of the pact. But Spain and Germany are in favor, as they “believe the agreement will diversify trade opportunities for an EU threatened by Chinese competition and US tariffs.”. Italy, which in December joined France in opposing the agreement and managed to block it, changed its stance last week.

M.Pino

Source: swissinfo

(Reference image source: Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash)

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