This Tuesday (17), the National Congress promulgated the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, signed by the presidents of the Senate, senator Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), and the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB). Several authorities were present at the ceremony, such as the vice-president and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC), Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, as well as ambassadors and parliamentarians. The treaty is expected to come into force in May.
In his speech, Hugo Motta stated that the agreement has a “political and civilizing” value, and highlighted that it “brings together two regions that share fundamental values: the defense of democracy, multilateralism, human rights and sustainable development”. He also declared that the measure serves “to show the world that international cooperation continues to be the best path, as the soil of intrigue and war will never be human aggrandizement”, in reference to the recent conflicts in the Middle East. Davi Alcolumbre stated that the session “will be recorded in the history of commercial and historical relations between our countries”, and added that “the Brazilian Parliament is very happy with today”.
Projections from the Ministry of Agriculture show that the treaty could represent an annual increase of R$25 billion to Brazilian agribusiness, and foresee a gradual reduction in import tariffs between the two blocs. The estimate is that, at the end of the process, tariffs will be eliminated on 91% of products exported by Mercosur and 95% of European products, expanding trade between the two regions.
