EU Talks with Mexico, Mercosur Push On For 2018 Trade Deals

Trade negotiations between the EU and a number of Latin American countries are picking up in the new year, with officials aiming to clinch an updated EU-Mexico agreement and a long-waited EU-Mercosur accord in the near term. EU-Mexico talks have already resumed, with negotiators meeting last week in Mexico City to advance the process. The two sides had attempted to finish the trade deal update last year, only to confirm after the final negotiating round in December that they would need more time. (See Bridges Weekly, 7 December 2017 ) After that meeting, held from 12-21 December, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said that the negotiating teams would need to do additional work in early 2018, “aiming for a deal that is right, not any deal.” “As I’ve said before, quality must come before speed, and this is a goal shared by our Mexican partners,” Malmström added. Similarly, EU-Mercosur negotiations did not lead to a political deal during talks held in mid-December on the sidelines of the WTO’s Eleventh Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (See Bridges Weekly, 7 December 2017 and Bridges Daily Update, 13 December 2017 ) “We have made good advancement but there’s still stock taking today,”...