Brasília, May 18, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Brazil sweetened its trade offers in the negotiations that are underway with the European Union, for the sake of concluding a free trade agreement with the European bloc by the end of 2004. The Foreign Trade Chamber (Camex), consisting of the Ministers of Finance, Development, Planning, Foreign Relations, Agriculture, and the Presidential Advisory Staff, decided yesterday (17) to place 315 more items on the negotiating table, thus raising from 83.5% to nearly 88% the percentage of goods eligible for special treatment between the Mercosur and the EU.

According to the executive secretary of the Camex, Mário Mugnaini, the Brazilian offer also eased negotiations in the area of services, especially telecommunications and ocean transport, as well as consolidating negotiations that have already been accepted in the area of investments. "In return, Brazil's agribusiness sector should enjoy a big advantage. This will clearly depend on the quotas that will be defined."

Mugnaini believes that the pork, beef, chicken, and alcohol sectors will also benefit from the negotiation. The proposals will be analyzed today in Buenos Aires by the Mercosur negotiators, altered, if necessary, and submitted to the EU tomorrow (19), when the European bloc will also make new offers to Brazil.

The final stage of the agreement should be negotiated in September, when the Brazilian government, in conjunction with the other members of the Mercosur - Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay - intends to sit down with the EU representatives to work out the details of tariff relief in order to facilitate trade between the Mercosur and the European Union.

Translator: David Silberstein