Senate approves agreement between Mercosur and European Union

Image of the signing of the Mercosur-EU agreement Reproduction/YouTube The Senate unanimously approved this Wednesday (4), the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU), which could create one of the largest free trade zones in the world. The Senate is the last stage of analysis in Brazil for the entry into force of the agreement between the blocs. 🌍The treaty, signed on January 17 in Paraguay, provides for the reduction or gradual elimination of import and export tariffs, which reach more than 90% of total trade between the blocs. Negotiated more than 25 years ago, the treaty provides for the gradual reduction of tariffs, common rules for trade in industrial and agricultural products, investments and regulatory standards. In the Senate, the rapporteur was in charge of the leader of the PP, Tereza Cristina (PP-MS), who called the agreement “immeasurable” due to the possibilities it opens up in relation to reducing tariffs and economic development of the regions involved. See the videos that are trending on g1 “The scope of the Agreement goes beyond, immeasurably, the reduction of tariffs or the establishment of quotas. Its truly transformative potential lies in the disciplines focused on emerging themes that structure the bases of contemporary competitiveness: investments, financial flows, services, means of payment, technology transfer, access to government purchases and competition rules, among others”, said Cristina. 700 million people The agreement will create one of the largest free trade areas in the world, linking the two blocs in a market of more than 700 million people. The expectation is that the trade agreement will better integrate the markets of the two blocs, reduce tariffs and expand the flow of goods and investments between South America and the euro zone. Despite the onslaught of European Union legislators, who imposed a setback on the trade agreement by sending it to the Court of Justice of the European Union — a move that could delay implementation by up to two years —, the expectation of diplomats is that the document will be applied provisionally in March. European Union will provisionally apply agreement with Mercosur “Today’s world is more fragmented, more skeptical and more protectionist. This makes the agreement with our European partners even more current — and even more necessary,” said the rapporteur. The president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), praised the commitment and speed of the Brazilian Congress in approving the proposal that has been under discussion for three decades. “The Brazilian parliament demonstrates once again the institutional maturity that we have and that each movement like this is the confirmation that the Brazilian parliament is on the side of the major issues of interest to society.” Bilateral safeguards This Tuesday afternoon, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) signed a decree that regulates the application of measures called “bilateral safeguards”, that is, they are commercial protection mechanisms for free trade agreements or agreements that provide for some tariff preference. The measure can be applied, for example, to the agreement signed between Mercosur and the European Union. The standards will not be exclusive to the European Union and will apply to other agreements that contain safeguard clauses. Safeguards may be adopted when there is a significant increase in imports in relation to national production or domestic consumption, capable of threatening or causing harm to Brazilian industry. In practice, it is like a “brake” provided for in trade agreements, so the country can, for example, raise tariffs, limit imported volumes or suspend tariff preferences to give “breath” to local producers, while the sector adjusts to external competition. Procedure is repeated in the countries In addition to the process in Brazil, the Mercosur-European Union agreement needs to be approved internally by each Mercosur country, in accordance with its own legislative rites. Only after ratification by all will the treaty be fully in force. Until then, the agreement may come into operation at different times in each country, depending on the progress of internal processes.

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