Asunción, Agencia IP.- The Minister of Industry and Commerce, Javier Giménez, stated that the economic aspect—one of the three components of the agreement reached between Mercosur and the European Union—could take effect within months once the European Parliament approves it.
«This economic agreement with the European Union will not wait for the approval of the parliaments of the 27 member states; it will begin to take effect gradually as soon as the European Parliament approves it,» Giménez said in an interview with 1080AM on Monday.
He clarified that only the political and cooperation aspects of the agreement require approval by the parliaments of the 27 EU Member States, which will take longer.
The minister emphasized that the economic agreement will begin to take effect upon approval by the European Parliament. Once the 260 Members of the European Parliament approve it, the agreement will be fully operational.
«Once the final version is drafted and the translations are completed, the European Parliament will approve it, and the economic aspect will take effect. This process could take a few months,» he explained.
In this regard, he stated that next year, under a gradual tariff reduction scheme, Paraguay and other Mercosur countries will already be able to export to Europe under this agreement.
He highlighted that «this is very positive» as it opens the world’s largest consumer market, with 450 million inhabitants possessing «significant purchasing power.»
He underscored that Mercosur must supply high-quality, competitively priced products for this to happen. Paraguay has already achieved these standards in certain sectors. «In some sectors, we already meet these standards, such as beef, and we need to extend this to other sectors,» he noted.
He mentioned that Paraguay is highly competitive in sectors such as beef, pork, poultry, timber, ethanol, organic sugar, and auto parts.
Regarding the political and cooperation components of the agreement, he explained that they address issues such as human rights, indigenous peoples, migration, visas, and mobility, as well as funds for development and structural differences between countries. The parliaments of each eurozone country will review these.