OAS

 
MERCOSUR - European Free Trade Association
 

  Background and Negotiations
   

On January 19, 2017, MERCOSUR and EFTA signed a Joint Statement announcing the conclusion of their exploratory dialogue on a possible comprehensive free trade agreement. MERCOSUR and EFTA held a meeting to prepare for the start of negotiations on February 17, 2017 in Brussels, Belgium. The first round of negotiation took place on June 19, 2017 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. MERCOSUR and EFTA met for the second round of free trade negotiations from 29 August to 1 September, 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland.

MERCOSUR and EFTA held an Intersessional Meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 17-18, 2017. The third round of free trade negotiations between EFTA and MERCOSUR States took place from 10 to 13 April 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The fourth round of negotiations was held in Geneva on July 2-6, 2018. The fifth round of free trade negotiations between Mercosur States and EFTA took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 8-12 October 2018. The sixth round of negotiations was held on November 26-30, 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland. The negotiating groups covered: trade in goods; rules of origin; trade in services; investment; intellectual property rights and government procurement. The 8th round of negotiations took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina on May 6-10, 2019. Delegations from MERCOSUR and EFTA met in Geneva on 11-14 June, 2019 moving closer to the finalization of their negotiations in all the areas. MERCOSUR and EFTA met in Buenos Aires, Argentina on August 20-23, 2019 and concluded negotiations in substance in all areas.

On February 10-14, 2020, the technical meeting for the legal review of the Free Trade Agreement between MERCOSUR and EFTA took place in Buenos Aires.

On 17 October 2022, Heads of delegation from Mercosur and the EFTA States met by videoconference to discuss the way forward in resolving issues related to the legal review prior to the signature of the EFTA-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement.

On March 22, 2024, during a meeting with parliamentarians from the EFTA member countries, the Vice President of Brazil reaffirmed his government's interest in moving forward with the MERCOSUR-EFTA agreement.

On April 18, 2024, the XI Round of Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement concluded. Topics related to market access, intellectual property rights, rules of origin, public procurement, trade and sustainable development, services, and legal and institutional issues were addressed. Having started negotiations of the agreement in 2019, and considering the new trends in international trade in recent years, progress was made on the different issues negotiated.

18 April 18 2024
Documents relating to the negotiations
18 April 18 2024 XI round of negotiations held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, concludedPDF Document New!
22 March 2024 Vice President of Brazil reaffirms his government's interest in advancing an agreement PDF Document
17 October 2022 EFTA and Mercosur Heads of delegation meet to discuss the way forward PDF Document
10-14 February 2020 Legal review meeting of the MERCOSUR-EFTA FTA PDF Document
20-23 August 2019 Buenos Aires, Argentina. MERCOSUR and EFTA conclude negotiations PDF Document
Chapter by chapter fact sheet on the free trade agreement PDF Document
11-14 June 2019 Geneva, Switzerland. Ninth round of trade negotiations PDF Document
06-10 May 2019 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eighth round of trade negotiations PDF Document
12-15 February 2019 Seventh round of free trade negotiations PDF Document
26-30 November 2018 Geneva, Switzerland. Sixth round of trade negotiations PDF Document
08-12 October 2018 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fifth round of trade negotiations PDF Document
02-06 July 2018 Geneva, Switzerland. Fourth round of free trade negotiations PDF Document
10-13 April 2018 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Third round of free trade negotiations PDF Document
17-18 October 2017 Buenos Aires, Argentina. Intersessional negotiating meeting PDF Document
29 August-01 September 2017 Geneva, Switzerland. Second round of free trade negotiationsPDF Document
19 June 2017 Buenos Aires, Argentina. First round of free trade negotiationsPDF Document
17 February 2017 Brussels, Belgium. MERCOSUR and EFTA prepare for upcoming free trade negotiations PDF Document
19 January 2017 Davos, Switzerland. MERCOSUR and EFTA sign Joint Statement announcing conclusion of exploratory dialogue on a free trade agreement PDF Document
09 March 2015 Brasilia, Brazil. MERCOSUR and EFTA agree to take next step towards closer trade relations PDF Document
15 December 2000 Declaration on Trade and Investment Co-operation and Action PlanPDF Document
Sources: EFTA Secretariat; Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, Argentina; Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio Internacional y Culto, Argentina; Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria, Comércio e Serviços, Brasil


Related Articles and Studies
   
August 2019 Resumen Informativo MERCOSUR-EFTA PDF Document
Source: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, Argentina
  Sources
   
 

Spanish version 
Recent Developments
  18 April 18 2024. XI round of negotiations held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, concluded New!

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