Daily Times

The EU and South American bloc Mercosur have agreed a free trade treaty, concluding two decades of talks and committing to more open markets in the face of a rising tide of protectionism.

The EU becomes the first major partner with which Mercosur has struck a trade pact, offering EU firms a potential head start. The EU is already Mercosur’s biggest trade and investment partner and its second largest for goods trade.

The two regions launched negotiations exactly 20 years ago and stepped up efforts to reach an accord after Donald Trump’s presidential victory led the Europeans to freeze talks with the US and seek other global trading allies.

The opening to Europe also offers more avenues for development in South America, which has been tugged in recent years between the ascent of top trading partner China and enduring US influence in the region.

“This deal delivers a real message in support of open, fair, sustainable and rule-based trade because trade creates jobs for all concerned,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a news conference in Japan’s western city of Osaka.

He was among the European leaders and Argentine President Mauricio Macri, gathered for the Group of 20 summit, who shared a podium at the event.

“This deal promotes our values and supports a multilateral, rules-based system,” Juncker said, adding that the commitment spoke a “lot, louder than 1,000 communiques.”

His remarks came as some G20 leaders signalled difficulty in efforts to draft a summit communique, with disagreements ranging from trade to climate change. The deal stands in contrast to the Trump administration’s aversion to multilateralism.

The EU’s drift away from the US has spurred on a free trade deal with Canada and helped to reach accords with Japan and Mexico.

Now, after some 40 rounds of talks, the Europeans have reached a provisional deal with the trade bloc founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The EU and Mercosur are together responsible for 720 million people and a quarter of global gross domestic product, says the government of Brazil, whose president, Jar Bolsonaro, hailed the deal on Twitter as historic and one of the most important trade pacts of all time.

If ratified, the deal will be a victory for Bolsonaro, whose right-wing politics face a chilly reception in much of the world, as well as Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who is battling for reelection this year amid a steep recession.

In terms of tariff cuts, the trade deal could be the EU’s most lucrative to date, with about €4 billion ($4.55 billion) of duties saved on exports, four times more than its deal with Japan.

Europe has its eyes on greater access for manufactured goods, notably cars, which face tariffs of 35 percent. It wants its firms freed to compete for public tenders, and to sell more wine and cheese. Mercosur aims to boost exports of farm commodities.