MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

EU/Mercosur trade talks to take off end of June in Buenos Aires

EC president Jose Manuel Barroso

Trade talks between the European Commission and Mercosur will begin at the end of the month, June 29 in Buenos Aires, according to EC sources. Talks are scheduled to last for over a year and expected to receive strong criticism from EU farmers’ organizations.

The push for the resumption of bilateral trade talks intensified following an understanding at the recent EU/Latinamerica/Caribbean leaders summit in Madrid, which received strong backing from the EC and Spain which holds the presidency until the end of the month.

But under the incoming Belgian presidency the talks’ process could again stall because of growing opposition from member states and other immediate priorities in the EU.

The EC has indicated that it wants a broad-based agreement with Mercosur. A statement released by Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso confirmed that the EU would seek full liberalization for a very large part of trade in goods and concessions for all major industrial sectors.

However European farmers organizations fear the payback for greater access to the growing Mercosur economies will be an easing of trade tariffs on agricultural goods into the EU, particularly beef and poultry products.

Farm organizations have warned that any increase in the Mercosur beef quota would be targeted at the lucrative EU steak cuts market, which accounts for 700,000 tons of the EU total beef consumption of 8 million tons.