MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguayan Government seeks to deepen Mercosur trade agreement with Egypt

Paraguay has a trade surplus with Egypt

Paraguay's Finance Ministry sought to deepen the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Mercosur and Egypt Wednesday when the II Meeting of the accord's Joint Committee convened.

During the encounter, the parties set up mechanisms for the exchange of commercial data between the parties and the updating of the coding and nomenclature of the lists of offers of goods encompassed by the FTA to carry out negotiations involving products currently excluded from the FTA.

Other issues under debate were the simplification of rules of origin, industrial cooperation through the Egyptian invitation to establish a Mercosur industrial zone in Egypt, health issues and trade promotion through business communities and chambers. trade.

Based on a report called Economic and Commercial Profile of Egypt, Paraguayan authorities estimate the US $ 30.4 million can be shipped to that country. Paraguay has a trade surplus with Egypt of the US $ 67.5 million, the main export items being beef, soybean oil, corn, cane sugar and animal fat, while imports from the African country consist chiefly of mineral and chemical fertilizers, plastics, and medical instruments and devices.

This Joint Committee is in charge of managing the agreement and ensuring its proper implementation, as well as determining the means to deepen its scope and cooperation between the parties.

The Mercosur - Egypt FTA was signed on August 2, 2010, in the city of San Juan, Argentina, to establish a free trade zone between the contracting parties following the provisions of Article XXIV of the GATT and the clause of authorization (article 3).