The National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Confederation of European Companies (BusinessEurope) released a joint note this Monday (12) defending the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur.
The demonstration takes place on the day that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) receives, in Brasília, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The agreement between the two blocs, which still needs to be ratified by the parliaments of all countries involved, will be the main point of discussion between the leaders.
Business entities, the most important in their areas of activity, say that the trade commitments agreed between the blocs in 2019, after more than 20 years of negotiations, are fundamental for the recovery of trade relations between the two blocs.
CNI and BusinessEurope say the commitments agreed in 2019 are “balanced” and “allow both parties to promote bilateral trade and investment flows, diversify their supply chains, sustain well-paying jobs on both sides, at the same time in which they effectively protect the environment and meet the highest standards of sustainable development”.
Despite decades of discussion, the agreement still has at least two contentious points.
Europeans want more guarantees from Mercosur (especially from Brazil) that the environmental area is respected and that products originating from deforested areas are not traded with the European Union.
Brazil, for its part, resists the idea of opening up to foreign participation in the government procurement sector.
President Lula himself stated at the beginning of the month that the agreement will not be signed if the Europeans reject Brazil’s conditions.
CNI believes that the agreement could help Brazilian industry a lot. In the joint statement, the entity stated that “CNI and BusinessEurope invite both sides to commit to the efforts necessary to celebrate the long-awaited agreement between the EU and Mercosur – a crucial delivery to leverage our bilateral relations to a new level. ”.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
