EU: 'A historic moment'

03-Jul-2019 - Last updated on 03-Jul-2019 at 14:31 GMT

A trade deal between the Mercosur countries – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay – and the European Union has been under negotiation for 20 years.

Last week (28 June), the parties announced they had reached a political agreement for a trade deal that is “ambitious, balanced and comprehensive”.

President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said: “I measure my words carefully when I say that this is a historical moment. In the midst of international trade tensions, we are sending today a strong signal with our Mercosur partners that we stand for rules-based trade.

"Through this trade pact, Mercosur countries have decided to open up their markets to the EU. This is obviously great news for companies, workers and the economy on both sides of the Atlantic, saving over €4 billion worth of duties per year."

Día histórico, ya es oficial: el #Mercosur y la UE alcanzaron un acuerdo después de 20 años de negociaciones. Un enorme paso para el bloque y su apertura comercial #AcuerdoMercosurUE pic.twitter.com/YRNAdqxXj0
— MERCOSUR (@mercosur) 28 juin 2019