The ociation Agreement announced between Mercosur and the European Union on Friday (28/6), in Brussels, represents, in the words of the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, “a historic moment” [1] , as, in Amid international trade tensions generated by American and Chinese protectionist policies, Mercosur and European Union countries are sending a strong signal to the world that it is possible to promote free trade based on rules and reciprocal benefits. For Mercosur, it represents the end of an isolationist trade policy that had lasted more than 20 years without the signing of relevant trade agreements, giving a new lease of life to the regional bloc, which seemed dormant in its international relations and in the internal political relevance granted by the governments.
The commercial agreement, specifically, is made up of chapters and annexes that discuss 22 areas of activity that demonstrate their significant proportions tariff access to the goods market rules of origin sanitary and phytosanitary measures technical barriers to trade with an automotive annex commercial defense bilateral safeguards defense of competition customs Chinese Malaysia Phone Number List cooperation trade facilitatio anti-fraud services and establishment government purchases intellectual property (with geographical indications attached dispute resolution regional integration dialogues state-owned companies subsidies wine and spirits annex institutional, legal and horizontal themes trade and sustainable development; and small and medium-sized companies.
The free trade agreement in numbers The impact of the ociation Agreement on trade between Mercosur countries and the European Union is verified through the significant numbers extracted from the relations already existing between them and the potential for growth with the entry into force of the agreement. Together, Mercosur and the European Union represent a GDP of 25% of the world economy, equivalent to 19 trillion euros, and a consumer market of 773 million people. The EU is currently Mercosur's 2nd largest trading partner, second only to China, and Mercosur is the EU's 8th largest extra-regional partner. According to data from the European Commission, in, biregional trade in products reached 88 billion euros, and in services, 34 billion euros, totaling 122 billion euros.
