Import threat from South America deferred
The prospect of increased imports into the EU of high-value beef from Mercosur countries such as Brazil is the only cloud on their horizon. Coveney said: “Mercosur, the South American trade bloc of which Brazil and Argentina are the two largest members, is currently in ongoing negotiations with the European Union with a view to producing and selling more produce for export into the European Union with fewer restrictions, in return for which certain EU exports, predominantly financial services and manufactured products, will gain access to South American markets. For a whole series of reasons, any deal on Mercosur has been put off for the foreseeable future.”
Senior European officials had said a deal was unlikely ahead of next year’s French presidential election, scheduled for April and early May. A summit meeting of EU, Latin America and Caribbean countries in Chile in July, 2012 was seen as a realistic target date for agreement, or for a declaration on finalising an agreement within 2012.
