Talks to finalise Mercosur have progressed ‘a lot’ - Calleary

Talks to finally ratify a stalled European Union trade deal with the Latin American Mercosur countries have progressed “a lot”, and Ireland is working to resolve its remaining concerns over potential competition such a deal would poses to Irish producers, trade minister Dara Calleary has said.

A push is under way within the EU to conclude the deal this year, before next year’s European elections cause a change in the guard and potentially further postpone the ratification of an accord that has stalled since talks concluded in 2019 after almost 20 years of negotiations.

The agreement would reduce duties and paperwork, giving better access to the Single Market to the agricultural sector of the Latin American bloc while opening a new market to EU firms.

Ratification has been delayed due to concerns about Brazil’s deforestation of the Amazon and the potential competition posed to domestic EU producers, particularly in the beef sector.

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“The process has progressed a lot,” Mr Calleary said as he arrived at a meeting of trade ministers in Brussels to discuss competition on Monday.

“We continue to have concerns, but we’re working to address those concerns,” he continued. “It’s key that we get a deal that’s fair, fair to European producers, to Irish producers.

“We can’t have lower standards on one end of a trade agreement than we have in the European Union, so it’s important to reach an accommodation on that and that, because we adhere to high level sustainability, that we don’t suffer as a consequence.”

The European Commission has said it wants the Mercosur deal to be ratified before the EU meets Latin American countries in a summit on July 17th and 18th.

Warming relations with the EU on issues such as the environment since the return to power of Brazil’s left-wing veteran president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva last autumn galvanised momentum to conclude the process.

The current Swedish presidency of the EU made advancing the talks a priority of its six-month term as part of a broader agenda to bolster free trade, and efforts are expected to intensify as Spain takes over in July with ambitions of strengthening links with Latin America.

In a joint press conference with President Lula last month, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez hailed the coming presidency as an “extraordinary opportunity” to finalise the Mercosur agreement, and both vowed to work to achieve it by the end of the year.