On December 6, 2024 the Presidents of the European Commission and the four Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguayan) finalized negotiations for ‘a groundbreaking EU-Mercosur partnership agreement’, which goes far beyond free-trade. (1)
Some clues to follow, with reference to the ongoing political debates and the expected outcomes on the international trade of honey among partnering countries. Provided that the European Parliament and the Council will approve, and Member States will ratify the text.
1) EU-Mercosur agreement, 25 years of negotiations
The negotiations for a free trade agreement between the then 14 countries of the European Community (now 27, in the European Union) and the four member states of Mercosur started way back in 1999.
Over the years, both the scope and the objectives of the negotiations have been expanded:
– from the reduction of import duties on products arriving from partner countries (GATT, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)
– to the elimination of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBTs) between groups of countries, with the establishment of the WTO (World Trade Organization, 2004)
– up to the development of a ‘comprehensive agreement’ which include a broad, despite still unclear, ‘political and cooperation pillar’. (2)
2) A controversial agreement
The EU-Mercosur agreement could represent the agreement with the greatest impact, at a global level, on the trade of agri-food products. And yet:
– the text has never been made public by the institutions during the negotiations;
– news on the progress of negotiations have been occasional and cryptic.
Civil society has filed complaints against the secrecy of the procedures, and there is still a lively debate over the social, economic, and environmental impact of the agreement (2,3).
3) Structure of the agreement, and the next steps
The proposed EU-Mercosur agreement is composed of a political and cooperation pillar, and a trade pillar. The end of negotiations constitutes the first step in the process towards conclusion of the agreement.
The official documents ought to be published online over the next days.
Following final legal revision by both sides, the text will be translated into all official EU languages, and then submitted to the Council and Parliament.
4) Expected outcomes on honey trade
Appendix 2-A-1 to the ‘Tariff Elimination Schedule for the EU’, annexed to the ‘Tariff Elimination Schedule’, provides a provisional expected outcome of the agreement between the EU and Mercosur (4,5).
The tariff rate quota for honey is expected to be as follows:
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) EU and Mercosur reach political agreement on groundbreaking partnership. European Commission, press release. December 6, 2024 https://tinyurl.com/3k26nbyf
(2) Dario Dongo. EU-Mercosur free trade, deep darkness. FT (Food Times). November 19, 2024 https://www.foodtimes.eu/planet-en/eu-mercosur-free-trade-deep-darkness/
(3) Dario Dongo. EU-Mercosur, citizens against politics. FT (Food Times). December 6, 2024
(4) EU-Mercosur agreement. Tariff Elimination Schedule for the EU https://tinyurl.com/4pm3e9fp
(5) EU-Mercosur agreement. Tariff Elimination Schedule https://tinyurl.com/yz5xmz8m
