Brasília, 4/22/2004 – After three years of negotiations in which "nobody moved an inch," the European Union has signalled that it is interested in a trade agreement with Mercosur which would include farm produce. That happened three months ago. Last week a "preliminary conversation" brought negotiators together in Buenos Aires. "We did not negotiate in Buenos Aires. What took place was an exchange of information and ideas," explained the head of the Department of International Negotiations at the Foreign Ministry in Brasilia, Régis Percy Arslanian, adding that effective negotiations will begin on May 3, pursuant to an already established timetable which divides the talks into three stages.

"In Buenos Aires," revealed Arslanian, "the Europeans explained their offer in the agriculture sector." Without going into details about the offer, Arslanian said the meeting had been "essential and useful because they (the Europeans) showed a willingness to open their markets." He went on to say that at the moment it was difficult to evaluate the offer because, for example, a possible increase of 20% to 30% in imports of certain Mercosur goods that had never been exported to Europe before would not be a big deal. It would have little significance, he pointed out.

Arslanian explained that Brazil had a list of 900 products it was interested in exporting to Europe, including instant coffee, meat, sugar, ethanol (sugarcane-based), dairy products and soybean oil. On the other hand, the European's priorities were financial services, telecommunications and manufactured goods.

Translator: Allen Bennett