Mercosur deal is Cecilia Malmstrom’s top priority
EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom has confirmed that a free trade agreement with South America’s Mercosur group of countries is her top priority.
She did not specify a new deadline, but believed an agreement could be struck during the term of the European Commission, which runs until the end of October.
She said agriculture — and a few others — are the complicated matters remaining in the Mercosur trade talks, and the two sides were getting closer, with offers exchanged already on less controversial farm products.
In terms of tariff reduction, it could be the EU’s most lucrative trade deal yet, with savings potentially four times greater than for deals with Canada and Japan combined.
The EU commenced trade talks 20 years ago with the Mercosur group, which now comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, the world’s fourth-largest trade bloc.
Farmers across the EU oppose a Mercosur a trade deal. IFA President Joe Healy said this week:
Farmers cannot understand why the EU is hell bent on doing a trade deal with South America, which will see more Brazilian beef coming into Europe.
"Beef from Brazil has four times the carbon footprint of beef from Ireland. It’s contradictory to EU climate policy, and makes no sense.
