Brazil wants car and sugar in the Mercosur customs union

Brazil wants car and sugar in the Mercosur customs union

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stated that his country, which now holds the presidency of the Mercosur trade bloc, will work to include the automotive and sugar industries in the regional customs union.

South American leaders from Mercosur member countries met in Argentina with plans to accelerate the recent free trade agreement with the European Union, which is likely to be at the center of the discussions.

“It is unjustifiable that there is no agreement between us,” he said in a speech at the Mercosur summit in Santa Fé, Argentina, noting that both industries are still on the group’s list of exception products.

Paraguay also wants an agreement

Paraguay also wants to negotiate bilateral agreements on cars and auto parts with other members of Mercosur: Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, according to Foreign Minister Luis Alberto Castiglioni.

“Paraguay is the only country that does not have a car agreement with any of its partners” in Mercosur, Castiglioni said in an interview during the summit of the South American trade bloc in Santa Fé.

According to him, Paraguay and Brazil are likely to begin negotiations later this month in Asuncion.

Paraguay’s economy slowed this year due to weak growth in neighboring Argentina and Brazil, with the central bank signaling that it could reduce its current growth forecast of 3.2% next week. Even so, Paraguay is one of the fastest-growing economies in the region.

Mercosur Summit

At the Mercosur summit meeting in Argentina, countries also discussed the implementation of the trade agreement between the South American bloc and the European Union, which could take up to three years, with the ratification by the parliaments of all its signatories as the last step.

That is why Mercosur has decided that the agreement will come into play by country, instead of waiting until all bloc legislatures approve the agreement.

Sources: Reuters and Bloomberg

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