- EURASIAREVIEW.COM - A la une - 28/Jun 23:14

Mercosur Presidents To Relax Tariffs At Next Summit

By Pedro Rafael Vilela Next week, the summit of the Southern Common Market—Mercosur, a bloc made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia—should confirm the decision to extend the list of exceptions to the common external tariff by 50 products. The unified tariff was introduced by Mercosur on goods from other markets in a bid to stimulate trade between the nations of the bloc. It has been in force since the first years of the bloc’s creation in the mid-1990s. The move increases the number of products that can be exempted from 100 to 150, according to the interests of each country. This is likely to be one of the main resolutions to be signed during the Mercosur leaders’ summit on July 2 and 3 in Buenos Aires. The list will be temporary and should remain in force until 2028, as per recent talks. Ambassador Gisela Padovan, secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, said that, even though Argentina had called for the list to be extended without restrictions on products, the Brazilian government had brokered a resolution that lays down criteria for exceptions. Green Mercosur At the end of the summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will assume the temporary presidency of Mercosur, currently held by Argentina. His trip to the neighboring country is scheduled for Wednesday (Jul. 2). He is slated to return to Brazil the following day, after the meeting with his South American counterparts. Under the Brazilian presidency for the next six months, Mercosur should focus on a green agenda to promote cooperation in sustainable trade. “By convening a meeting of environment ministers, as we did at the Caribbean summit ten days ago, we also intend to send a message to COP30, a message from the Mercosur countries, showing the urgency of responding to the climate crisis,” Padovan said. The ambassador refrained from pointing out differences on this issue with neighboring governments, especially Argentina, which supports a denialist agenda on the climate issue. “We recognize there may be difficulties, but in the same way that we have reached a consensus on many issues that seemed difficult at first, I believe dialogue is the best solution,” she declared. Trade agreements The Brazilian government should give priority to finalizing the Mercosur agreement with the European Union. Despite having already been negotiated, the Mercosur–EU deal is now being incorporated by the countries involved and is still being met with resistance, especially from France, where President Lula was on a recent state visit to try to make progress in the talks directly with French President Emmanuel Macron. Another accord that could be unveiled later this year is Mercosur’s agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)—made up of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Mercosur also plans to negotiate treaties with Canada, Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia. “The aim of all the Mercosur countries is to sign a greater number of agreements,” Padovan added. Convergence Fund Over the next six months, under the Brazilian presidency, Mercosur plans to launch the second edition of the Mercosur Structural Convergence Fund—FOCEM in the Spanish and Portuguese acronym, a joint mechanism set up by the bloc’s countries to finance construction work and boost trade. In recent decades, the fund has made over $1 billion in investments possible, chiefly in structural works in Argentina and Paraguay. The Brazilian presidency has vowed to strengthen the work of the Mercosur Social Institute and the Institute for Public Policies on Human Rights, promoting greater participation by society in debates on priority issues. “We would like to see these institutes more vigorous. We will work to help them fulfill their crucial function of preparing technical bodies, conducting studies, disseminating data, and effectively promoting vital issues such as human rights, social justice, and equity,” Gisela Padovan went on to say.