April 17, 2019
The European Commission is negotiating several trade agreements between the European Union (EU) and various countries and trade blocs and recently reported on progress in negotiations with Mercosur, Indonesia, Chile and Australia.
The latest round of negotiations for a trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur took place from March 11 to 15 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, at experts and chief negotiators level. The negotiations covered trade in goods, specific rules applicable to wines and spirits, rules of origin, government procurement, intellectual property including geographical indications, rules in respect of state-owned enterprises and subsidies. The South American trade bloc of Mercosur is a customs union established in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The seventh round of negotiations with Indonesia, that took place in Brussels from March 11 to 15, brought about good progress across the board, particularly on the chapters on sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, rules of origin and investment. The chapters on trade remedies and customs are now close to completion at technical level. The next round will be held before the summer in Indonesia.
The third round of negotiations with Australia confirmed a shared commitment to achieve an ambitious and comprehensive agreement. The round covered discussions in almost all thematic groups and the negotiators started putting together parts of the text agreeable to both sides. The fourth negotiation round of talks with Australia is scheduled for July 2019.