The deadline for the Mercosur-EU trade agreement is August, said the Minister of Foreign Trade | Economy

The minister pointed out that in early July, there will be more technical rounds between representatives of the two blocks to advance in points that are not yet fully completed. He cited as examples of geographic discussions, the definition of the criterion of the origin of the product, the maritime transport of goods that will be processed by the parties and the automotive industry.

"My deadline is up to the month of August for the political agreement," Lima said. According to him, if the agreement is closed and announced until August, the technical drafting of the trade pact will take a few months and should not be completed until the end of the year.

The prospect is that the terms of the agreement will only be approved in the next legislature, that is, by the Congress to be elected this year. But elections in Brazil and in European countries, which also face other internal challenges, are potential obstacles to the conclusion of the negotiations.

"Unless the European community does not want it, there is a free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union," said Lima, without specifying the agreement between the two countries. two blocks.

Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes gave a less optimistic tone to the outcome of the agreement. According to him, one should not expect a very ambitious commercial pact.

Nunes said that the agreement should have similar bases to the trade partnerships signed between the EU and countries such as Canada, Mexico and Japan and that the European bloc brings together many countries, which makes the closing of the agreement more complex.