Mercosur-EU Agreement is not just an achievement of this government, says deputy

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When celebrating the signing of the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, after more than 20 years of negotiations, the vice-president of the Chamber, deputy Marcos Pereira (PRB-SP), emphasized that the political commitment signed in the Bolsonaro's government is an achievement of all recent governments, including the current one.


"Statements like 'we did in four months what they didn't do in 20 years' are just political rhetoric and do not correspond to the truth. An agreement of this magnitude would not be (and has not been) achieved in such a short time. I congratulate the current government for having reached the conclusion, but I cannot let the story be erased, especially due to the work of technical negotiators not only from Brazil, but from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. There were many, many rounds of negotiations and sleepless nights to reach a good agreement for both the blocks were possible", said Pereira, who is also president of the PRB.

The deputy also highlighted his B2B Lead performance and said that he was responsible for resuming negotiations in 2016, when he commanded the Ministry of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services during the Temer government.

"The lesson that remains is the following: in republicanism, matters of State must permeate governments and partisan and ideological interests in the name of the public interest. Brazil did not start on January 1, 2019. There are many good things started in previous governments that deserve not just continuity, but improvement. We need sobriety, balance and respect when dealing with public affairs", he stated.

Free trade
According to the agreement, the Mercosur and European Union countries will form one of the largest free trade areas on the planet. Together, the two blocs represent around 25% of the world economy and a market of 780 million people.

The free trade agreement, signed last Friday (28/6), will eliminate import tariffs for more than 90% of products traded between the two blocs. For products that will not have tariffs eliminated, preferential import quotas with reduced tariffs will be applied. The tariff elimination process varies according to each product and should take up to 15 years, counting from the entry into force of the intercontinental partnership.



According to the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), the agreement reduces, for example, import tariffs on Brazilian products such as footwear from 17% to zero and increases the competitiveness of industrial goods in sectors such as textiles, chemicals, auto parts, wood. and aeronautics. A study by the confederation shows that, of the 1,101 products that Brazil is able to export to the European Union, 68% face import tariffs.

With the opening of the European market for Brazilian agricultural products, which are highly competitive, more investments must be applied to the national industry itself, as sector data show that agribusiness consumes R$300 million in industrialized goods in Brazil for every R$1 billion exported.