EU meets Mercosur to move forward trade deal but ethanol off the table

In Belgium, the European Union and Mercosur are back to negotiating a multilateral trade agreement between the two trading blocs, exchanging offers for the first time since 2004. Sensitive items such as ethanol and beef were excluded from this first exchange of offers, offers which will be discussed at a chief negotiators’ meeting in July in Montevideo that will seek to set up meetings for negotiations throughout the rest of the year. The agreement seeks to be an Association Agreement that entails not just mutual market access but also political and development cooperation.