Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has hailed the conclusion of a controversial free-trade deal between the European Union and South America’s Mercosur bloc, calling it ‘a historic agreement’.
‘Today, the European Union has achieved a historic agreement with Mercosur to establish an unprecedented economic bridge between Europe and Latin America,’ he wrote on X (Twitter).
‘Spain will work to ensure that this agreement is approved at the (European) Council, because trade openness with our Latin American friends will make us all more prosperous and resilient,’ the socialist (PSOE) prime minister added, referring to the body representing EU states.
While negotiations have concluded, the EU-Mercosur deal still needs to be greenlit by at least 15 of the European Union’s 27 member nations representing 65% of the EU population.
The EU’s ‘blockbuster free trade agreement’ with Brazil, Argentina and the three other South American nations in the Mercosur trade alliance comes after 25 years of on-off negotiations, even as France vowed to derail the contentious accord.
Provided it is ratified, the accord would create one of the world’s largest free trade zones, covering a market of 780 million people that represents nearly a quarter of global gross domestic product.
The accord’s proponents in Brussels say it would save businesses some €4 billion in duties each year, slashing red tape and removing tariffs on products like Italian wine, Argentine steak, Brazilian oranges and German Volkswagens.
Spain is Europe’s leading exporter of fruit and vegetables, and the world’s top producer of olives. It is one of the EU’s agriculture powerhouses along with France, Germany, Italy and Poland.
Despite Sánchez calling the agreement ‘an unprecedented economic bridge’, its critics in France, the Netherlands and other countries with big dairy and beef industries, say the pact would subject local farmers to unfair competition and cause environmental damage.
From Uruguay, the host of the Mercosur summit, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the deal as a ‘truly historic milestone’ at a time when global protectionism is on the rise.
‘I know that strong winds are blowing in the opposite direction, toward isolation and fragmentation, but this agreement is our clear response,’ von der Leyen said, an apparent reference to US President-elect Donald Trump’s vows to protect American workers and goods.
Under pressure from his country’s powerful and vocal farming lobby, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday the deal remained ‘unacceptable’ as it stands and stressed that governments have not yet seen ‘the final outcome’ of negotiations.
‘The agreement has neither been signed nor ratified. This is not the end of the story,’ Macron’s office said, adding that France demands additional safeguards for farmers and commitments to sustainable development and health controls.
For France to block the deal, it would need the support of three or more other EU member states representing at least 35% of the bloc’s population.
The French government, which has been rallying countries to oppose the pact, named Austria, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland as other wary states that share French concerns about the deal.
To take effect, the pact must also be endorsed by the European Parliament.
In remarks aimed at her ‘fellow Europeans’, and perhaps in particular French skeptics, von der Leyen promised the accord would boost 60,000 businesses through lower tariffs, streamlined customs procedures and preferential access to raw materials otherwise supplied by China.
‘This will create huge business opportunities,’ von der Leyen said.
Mercosur is comprised of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and, newly, Bolivia. The bloc had previously only managed to conclude free-trade deals with Egypt, Israel and Singapore.
‘An important obstacle to the agreement has been overcome,’ said Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, where the nation’s vaunted car industry is poised to profit.
At the Mercosur summit in Uruguay’s capital of Montevideo, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva praised ‘a modern and balanced text which recognises Mercosur’s environmental credentials’.
‘We are securing new markets for our exports and strengthening investment flows,’ he said.
We have concluded the negotiations for the EU-Mercosur agreement.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 6, 2024
It marks the beginning of a new story.
I now look forward to discussing it with EU countries.
This agreement will work for people and businesses.
More jobs. More choices. Shared prosperity. pic.twitter.com/4E9z1Ztamc
Sign up for the FREE Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
Please support Spain in English with a donation.
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.
Click here for further details on how to ADVERTISE with us.
