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S American bloc strikes Europe trade deal


Bangladeshpost
Published : 29 Jun 2019 05:26 PM | Updated : 03 Sep 2020 02:12 PM

South America’s Mercosur trade bloc struck a ‘strategic association’ trade deal with the European Union on Friday after two decades of negotiations, the two sides announced, report agencies.

The agreement clinched in the Belgian capital of Brussels is ‘an ambitious, balanced and comprehensive agreement’ that sends a strong positive signal amid global trade tensions, according to an EU statement..

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described the pact with the group made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, reached exactly 20 years after talks were launched as ‘a historical moment.’

‘In the midst of international trade tensions, we are sending today a strong signal with our Mercosur partners that we stand for rules-based trade,’ Juncker said.

Argentina’s Foreign Ministry said the agreement ‘will mean the integration of a market of some 800 million people, nearly a fourth of the world’s gross domestic product and more than $100 billion in bilateral trade of goods and services.’

The ministry said the deal also is aimed at strengthening political and cultural ties with the EU, improving access to goods, services and investments by reducing restrictions and easing access to technology and raw materials.

Juncker said the deal would remove most tariffs on EU exports to Mercosur, saving more than 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) worth of duties each year, four times as much as Europe’s pact with Japan.

The commission, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of the 28-nation EU, said the agreement is particularly important for industrial sectors like cars and car parts, machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals as well as clothing and footwear.

The agricultural and food sector also stands to benefit, particularly products like chocolates, wine and spirits, according to the UU.

The commission said the deal will ease border checks and cut red tape.

The deal still must be ratified by the legislatures of all the countries involved.

The agreement brings to 15 the number of pacts the EU has concluded since 2014, most recently with Canada and Japan, and comes as the bloc pushes ahead with international trade deals. It is determined to remain a flag-bearer of the global rules-based system at a time when that system is being challenged by a Trump administration skeptical of free trade.

Negotiations began on June 28, 1999, but have taken a long and torturous path marked by breaks and frustrations, as the countries’ different sensitivities and priorities were taken into account.

But EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the talks gathered momentum early this year, aided in part by a new Brazilian government that made the deal one of its priorities, and were pushed over the line by intensive negotiations over the last three days in Brussels.

‘This is a landmark agreement,’ a beaming Malmstrom told reporters in Brussels, flanked by negotiators and senior officials.

‘With this deal we are showing that we believe that trade is a good thing. It brings people and companies together, and we send a loud and clear message in support of open, sustainable, mutually beneficial, rule-based trade.’