Mercosur and Canada will resume negotiations on a trade agreement – MercoPress

Mercosur and Canada will resume negotiations for a trade agreement

CNN Brazil reported that negotiations on an agreement between Mercosur and Canada eliminating tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods, services, intellectual property and government procurement will resume after more than three years. The initiative has been crippled by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The South American bloc made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay had been negotiating with Canada since 2018, when other priorities took center stage. After three years, a team of Canadian negotiators will go to Brasilia for the first round of talks in the first week of May.

According to Brazilian media, the idea is to reach an agreement that covers not only the removal of tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods, but also services, investments, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, intellectual property and government procurement, among other items.

Last year, Brazil exported $5.4 billion to Canada and imported $5.2 billion. The main products exported were gold, aluminum, semi-finished steel products, sugar, coffee and Embraer aircraft.

Meanwhile, Argentine President Alberto Fernandez – in charge of Mercosur’s interim presidency – has to present four documents to move forward with the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement signed in 2019, it was reported in Buenos Aires. These documents are mainly related to the value chain and environmental protection, as well as products with an indication of origin, according to Tellam. He explained that these new documents “resign from the agreement from now on” and “will be made available to Mercosur”.