World trade
EU starts the final vote on Mercosur trading deals
The EU and South American states want to form one of the largest free trade zones in the world and thus also send a message towards Washington. Now the last hurdles should be taken.
In the EU, the final voting process begins with the South American state alliance Mercosur. The EU Commission initiated the contract texts for the agreements with the states of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to the governments of the EU countries and the European Parliament. The Brussels authority hopes that this will agree until the end of the year at the latest and thus enable the agreement to be concluded.
According to the EU Commission, the new free trade zone with more than 700 million inhabitants would be the world’s largest of this kind and is also intended to set an example against the protectionist customs policy of US President Donald Trump. It is planned to largely reduce tariffs and trade barriers between the EU and the Mercosur countries.
The EU Commission estimates that the agreement can increase the annual EU exports to South America by up to 39 percent (49 billion euros)-and thus support more than 440,000 jobs across Europe. There are particularly great opportunities for the auto industry, mechanical engineering and the pharmaceutical industry. For example, an inch of 35 percent is currently due on car imports in the Mercosur countries.
dpa
Source: Stern
