The Federal Senate will hold a formal session this Tuesday (16) to promulgate the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. The ceremony marks another step towards the entry into force of the treaty, considered one of the largest commercial pacts ever negotiated by Brazil.
Signed in January, the agreement still depends on the internal approval of all countries involved to fully enter into force. In Brazil, the text has already been approved by the National Congress. Faced with fears that the country will again suffer trade sanctions from the United States, the Brazilian government is working to ensure that the treaty begins to take effect by the end of May.
After questions from some European countries about points in the agreement, the European Commission announced that it intends to start a provisional application of trade rules, even before full ratification by all national parliaments.
The treaty provides for the gradual reduction of import tariffs between the blocks. 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.
