Brazil is engaged in concluding the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, says minister
“We are engaged with finalizing the negotiations of the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, seeking to ensure the balance of the instrument”, stated Mauro Vieira.
The trade agreement between South Americans and Europeans was closed in June 2019, after 20 years of negotiations. The text predicts that, within a period of up to 15 years, more than 90% of product trade between the countries that make up the two economic blocs will have zero import taxes.
Some details, such as issues related to the environmental agenda, are still under discussion by the two economic blocs. The Brazilian government’s objective, according to President Lula, is to finalize the negotiations by the middle of this year.
According to data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat, the agreement could add between US$ 85 billion and US$ 125 billion to the Brazilian economy in 15 years. Investments in the country in the same period could reach US$ 113 billion.
In his inauguration speech as president of FrenComex, federal deputy Da Vitória (PP–ES) highlighted that Mercosur members look forward to the conclusion of the agreement and that the partnership with the European Union will be positive for the Brazilian economy.
“The free trade agreement with the European Union is a topic of great interest not only for Brazil, but for our neighbors. It is a partnership with the potential to have a great impact on the economy of our countries and a unique opportunity to open new markets for Brazilian products and may even contribute to increasing Brazil’s competitiveness.”
Priorities
Senator Nelsinho Trad (PSD-MS) stated that, in addition to seeking to conclude trade agreements with other countries, FrenComex aims to promote public policies to strengthen foreign trade, making Brazilian companies competitive on the international scene.
According to former Secretary of Foreign Trade Welber Barral, president of the Brazilian Institute of International Trade and Investments (IBCI), it is necessary to highlight the growing relationship between trade and the environment. “Public policies that appear to Brazil as opportunities, but also as risks, involve the carbon market, the hydrogen market, emissions, carbon barriers abroad, redirecting investments in terms of risks and environmental opportunities.”
Barral pointed out that the country needs to solve two obstacles for Brazilian companies that operate in foreign trade. The first one is the low financing for exports. “Brazilian export financing has been practically immobilized in the last 5 years and Brazil has been losing market not only in the neighborhood, but in Africa and other destinations, due to the lack of a more active structure that must be implemented with regard to financing for export,” he said.
The second obstacle is the Brazilian tax system, which he classified as the “worst in the world”. For Barral, the country has the chance to promote a tax reform that also meets the demands of national exporters, such as credit accumulation and taxation of the production chain.
During the event, the participants also highlighted that Brazil cannot be left out of the discussions around sustainable economic development. They criticized the so-called “green protectionism”, a strategy whereby a country uses the environmental agenda as a cover to adopt protectionist measures in trade.
By Brasil 61
