President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made official this Monday (2) the sending of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) to the National Congress. The order was published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU).
Brazilian parliamentarians need to approve the treaty for it to come into force, which should occur over the next few weeks in votes in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate.
The agreement establishes the largest free trade zone in the world, with more than 720 million inhabitants. He was signed by representatives on both sides on January 17th, in Asunción, Paraguay.
Under the terms of what was approved, the commercial treaty provides for the elimination of customs duties on most goods and services produced between the two blocs.
Mercosur will eliminate tariffs on 91% of European goods within 15 years. The European Union will eliminate tariffs on 95% of Mercosur goods within 12 years.
Despite the formal signing between the two blocs, the internalization of the agreement needs to be done by the national congresses of each of the Mercosur countries, as well as the European Parliament.
In the case of the Europeans, however, the forwarding of the agreement for analysis by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in decision made two weeks agoblocked the text and could delay this final stage by up to two years.
The Brazilian government’s expectation is that approval by the National Congress will help to pressure the progress of the agreement by the European Parliament.
