The EU / Mercosur Trade Agreement
The countries of the European Union approved the agreement with Mercosur after 25 years of negotiations
Welcome Avatar! After 25 years of negotiations and jet fuel spent on Eurocrats and the heads of Mercosur, it looks like the EU is finally moving forward with the EU/Mercosur trade agreement. What does this entail and how will it impact the Mercosur?
The European Commission has been negotiating this vast agreement with Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay since 1999. It aims to create the world’s largest free trade zone, encompassing more than 700 million consumers, and eliminate tariffs on more than 90% of their bilateral trade.
Last Friday, the Council of the EU approved the trade agreement with Mercosur, paving the way for the creation of the world’s largest free trade zone. At a meeting of ambassadors in Brussels, the 27 member states of the European Union reached a qualified majority, despite the opposition announced by countries such as France, Poland and Ireland.
There were several clauses added, designed to quell the opposition of European farmers who have been dumping manure and potatoes in Brussels, Paris and across Ireland ever since the negotiations drew to a positive outcome.
It looks like this trade deal would mean the end of EUSSR farmers, or at least that is the way they interpret it.
Unelected Ursula von der Leyen does not see it that way, and has already confirmed a trip to Asunción, Paraguay, to place the final signature below the fine print of the trade deal on January 17.
Even if the agreement is signed in Asunción, it will not immediately enter into force. Honoring the inner workings of true colossal bureaucracies like those that can only be spun up in Brussels, the agreement also requires the approval of the European Parliament, which must issue its decision within several weeks.
The outcome there is far from certain, as some 150 MEPs (out of a total of 720) are threatening legal action to prevent the agreement’s implementation. So everything could still be shot down last minute.
So what exactly what is the controversy in the trade deal and how will this impact the Mercosur and the EU? Let’s find out.