EU chief in Uruguay for final talks on a huge trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Uruguay Thursday for the final stages in years-long negotiations to clinch a trade deal between the 27-nation EU and the South American Mercosur trade bloc that would create a trans-Atlantic market of some 700 million people.

“The finish line of the EU-Mercosur agreement is in sight. Let’s work, let’s cross it,” von der Leyen said Thursday, sidestepping objections from some EU member states like France and protests by farmers across the bloc.

French President Emmanuel Macron, mindful of his country's vocal and politically powerful farming community, has described what was on the table as "unacceptable.” If the deal with the South American bloc — comprising of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia — goes ahead, EU producers would have to compete with South American agricultural exports such as beef, poultry and sugar.

“We will continue to steadfastly defend our agricultural independence,” Macron said Thursday.

Because the EU Commission negotiates trade agreements for all 27 member states, von der Leyen could go ahead with a provisional deal this weekend at the Mercosur summit in Uruguay, only to see it flounder because one or more members states refuse to sign up to it.

A draft deal was announced in 2019, but disagreements over environmental, economic and political issues have delaying its final approval until now.

If the final differences are bridged, the EU-Mercosur deal would encompass an economic area covering almost a quarter of global GDP. It would center on reducing tariffs and trade barriers and make it easier for businesses on both sides to export goods.

Germany, with its huge car industry, is a big proponent of the deal since it would make it much easier and cheaper for Volkswagens, Audis and BMWs to be sold in Latin America.

Von der Leyen's trip suggested that technical issues between the EU and the South American bloc were settled and the road was open for “the top political level to make the final compromises to try to get a deal over the line,” said Commission spokesman Olof Gill.

A massive European farmers’ protest movement last year sent warning shots to negotiators and on Thursday, protests from Belgian farmers added their voice by blocking border crossings. They say Mercosur producers would be allowed to flood the market with produce than do not have to meet the strict EU environmental and animal protection standards they have to abide by, thus unfairly undercutting the market. On top of that, they say South American producers benefit from lower labor costs and larger farms.

If von der Leyen clinches a deal, the Commission would still have to pour it into legal text and only at that stage would it become clear if certain or all parts need to be approved by unanimity or whether a special majority among EU nations would suffice to make the deal final.

___

Tom Nouvian contributed from Paris