Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, traveled to Brussels this Thursday to discuss Mercosur with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
This meeting takes place in a context of strong peasant demonstrations.
The French consider that there is unfair competition within Europe, which would worsen if free trade is allowed with Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and soon Bolivia.
However,
the agreement is still in negotiations,
and this situation could lead leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to
rethink their demands
, beyond agricultural and environmental issues.
In recent months, Mercosur has made progress, but more setbacks
due to the environmental standards
required by Europe.
With the demonstrations of farmers who oppose said trade agreement, this issue resurfaces in European public opinion.
More than just an agricultural agreement
But if we want to talk seriously about Mercosur,
economist Antoine Bouët
, from the University of Bordeaux, believes that
this treaty cannot be reduced exclusively to agricultural products:
“We cannot separate the agriculture part from the other sectors.
We cannot impose on the South Americans an agreement that would open up their technology industry, especially that benefits the import of technology from Europe, and we
cannot grant them anything on agricultural issues
.
MEPs and members of Vox, at the entrance to the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels, where hundreds of farmers are protesting.
Photo: EFE
“This treaty
also includes mineral resources
.
We think, for example, of Argentina, which has
a lot of lithium,
of Bolivia, which is in the entry process and let us remember that lithium is essential for the production of batteries and electric vehicles.
A free trade agreement is above all
an exchange of concessions
”, he adds.
Agriculture vs technology
“From our South American vision we have a reverse situation,” comments
Oscar Guillén,
doctoral fellow at the Institute of Economic and Social Research of the South, at the National University of the South, Argentina.
He agrees with the economist Antoine Bouët, and specifies the technological issues: “What for the European case represents agriculture in terms of competitiveness and competition, for us, the opposite, would represent all technological development.
“We must go beyond what is being discussed and
concessions must be made that serve both parties
.”
“We need, at the Mercosur level, to sell the products where we basically have comparative advantages, which are all agricultural products, and we also need to
bring everything that is not produced here
in terms of medium and high technology,” he analyzes.
“Win win situation”
While France pays attention to agricultural issues,
Germany is interested in the pharmaceutical, automotive, and aeronautical industries.
For its part, Uruguay, a country whose agricultural production represents the majority of its exports, calls for releasing European trade obstacles.
“Just as the European Union has demands, Latin America and in the case of Mercosur also have demands.
Then
the pact is closed when we are in a
win-win
situation (everyone wins), which of course is what is desired for the parties,” concludes Oscar Guillén.
The Mercosur trade agreement
could integrate 800 million inhabitants.
Long-standing negotiations
Negotiations between Mercosur (Southern Common Market) and the European Union (EU)
began in 1999,
when a Cooperation Framework Agreement was signed between both organizations.
However, formal negotiations for a free trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU began in 2000. Since then,
there have been several rounds of negotiations
and various partial agreements have been reached, but a final agreement has not yet been reached.