Latin America’s Mercosur trade bloc countries formally launched negotiations on a free trade deal with Canada on Friday.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga said the first meeting would take place in Ottawa, Canada on March 20-23.
In a joint statement, ministers said they were aiming to conclude a “Canada-Mercosur Global Trade Agreement” with a “shared commitment to trade liberalization and opening markets.”
The talks with Canada, represented by Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, will cover access to goods and services markets, employment, environmental issues and small and medium-sized businesses.
Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said the two sides hoped to sign a free trade agreement before the end of the year.
“I think that this will be quicker than the negotiations with the European Union,” said Faurie.
The South American bloc — made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — has been engaged for more than two decades in talks with the European Union, which are moving towards a conclusion but have slowed over the reluctance to European farmers to accept imports of South American beef.
EU and Mercosur officials said last week they would extend their talks on a trade deal by a couple of weeks to resolve “four or five” outstanding issues.
“The last details are the heaviest, the most complicated ones,” the Argentine minister said.
Uruguayan Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa signs a document alongside Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira (left) and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga (right) during a meeting between Canada and the Mercosur trade bloc at Paraguay’s Foreign Ministry building in Asuncion on Friday.