Mercosur will present its counterproposal to get closer to closing the agreement with the European Union, something that Uruguay needs to move forward with the FTA with China.
President Luis Lacalle Pou he met with Qiu Xiaoqu, representative Special of the Chinese Government for Latin American and Caribbean Affairswith the aim of continuing to work on the bilateral agenda, while the agreement between the European Union (EU) and the mercosur seems to be closer to closing, in a scenario that turns positive for Uruguay and their intentions to reach the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China.
The Uruguayan government is not giving up on its opening agenda and on having China as the main trade partner in the strategy of bilateral agreements, despite the signs of cooling that it has received in recent months. In this sense, and despite the fact that they understand that the FTA will not be something that will happen in the short term, Lacalle Pou and Chancellery They seek to bring both countries as close as possible to reach the ideal horizon as soon as possible.
In this regard, a new visit by the Uruguayan delegation to the Asian country has already been defined for August, which will be led by the vice chancellor Nicholas Albertoni, who will also chair a bilateral trade and investment commission. The next step is to prepare the trip there that Lacalle Pou will make later, estimated between October and November.
Meanwhile, the president received Qiu Xiaoqu, an envoy from Xi Jinping, in the Executive Tower, where they advanced on issues on the bilateral agenda.
A positive sign from Europe
Meanwhile, Negotiations to define the final details of the agreement between the EU and Mercosur enter a decisive phasedespite the fact that there is still caution about whether the document will be definitively closed this year.
In this sense, next week the countries that make up the regional bloc —Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay— must submit their counterproposal to the draft of the EU demands to continue advancing in the negotiations that, according to the European Comission, are priorities for the continent of the northern hemisphere.
The biggest problem —besides the French opposition— will be in the European intention that the agreement includes environmental protection and the responsibilities of each party, something that was not well received by the Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvabecause it would convert voluntary environmental commitments in light of the Paris Agreement into binding and mandatory targets. In this regard, Brazil will seek to continue the talks at a political level and not just technical and commercial.
However, progress in negotiations is good news for Uruguay’s goals with China. This is because the EU-Mercosur agreement is a priority for Lula da Silva before sitting down to negotiate a regional FTA with the Asian country; and, in parallel, the harmony of the region —and a greater agreement— is the predominant intention in Peking.
Therefore, for the Uruguayan government to have the support of Lula and the entire bloc It could be the necessary condition for the bilateral negotiations with China —which it has been holding for months and within which the presentation of the feasibility studies is about to be over a year old— to come to fruition. And for this, achieving the agreement with the European Union will be a necessary prior step.
Source: Ambito
