Brazil’s government expects the country’s exports to increase 13% by 2038 through the full enforcement of the free trade deal between the South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union, Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said on Wednesday.
Alckmin said industrial exports alone could rise 26% in the same period due to the agreement signed by the blocs in January.
«Tariff cuts are gradual, but you have close to 5,000 products whose duties will be reduced to zero as of May 1, so there will be a significant impact», — Alckmin said.
The deal tentatively comes into force on May 1, as some EU members, such as France, have challenged the contentious agreement at the bloc’s top court.
But the gradual removal of tariffs between the EU and Mercosur – which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – begins immediately and is expected to be completed within 12 years.
Trade between Brazil and the EU, the country’s second-largest trading partner after China, amounted to about $100 billion last year, with a slight European surplus of roughly $500 million.
