Despite EU and Mercosur countries remaining committed to reaching a trade agreement, the European Commission did not endorse the South American bloc’s target to reach an agreement by September, as substantial gaps remain between the two sides.
A long-awaited major trade deal between the EU and Mercosur may this week take a key step towards realization with ministerial teams from both sides meeting in Brussels on Monday. They are expected to give negotiators a new, decisive political impulse to reach agreement in a matter of weeks, according to Irish sources.
Following a meeting to discuss common concerns, the British Isles' farming unions – NFU Scotland, the English NFU, NFU Cymru, the Ulster Farmers Union and the Irish Farmers Association – issued a joint statement warning buyers that the downward pressure on farm-gate prices was “sapping confidence” out of the sector.
Uruguay's foreign minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa said on Thursday that all agriculture products are included in negotiations for a wide ranging trade and cooperation agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. The chief negotiator for Mercosur underlined that contrary to what was announced by some media, beef and ethanol are included in the proposals exchanged on Wednesday in Brussels between the two blocks.