AgroBrazil, a group of 15 agribusiness entities, called for progress in negotiations for a free trade agreement between Mercosur and South Korea. The Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA), one of the entities that make up the alliance, also supports the negotiations for the agreement.
According to CNA, although South Korea is the eighth largest importer of food in the world, Brazil ranks 11th among countries that ship agricultural items to that market, which reinforces the need for a trade agreement.
According to the Alliance, while the average South Korean tariff is 13.7%, Brazil’s agricultural goods face tariff peaks and escalations that reach 700% due to the absence of a trade agreement.
In addition to tariffs, the entities claim that non-tariff barriers, such as the lack of sanitary and phytosanitary certificates, are important obstacles to the access of Brazilian products to the Korean market.
The next round of dialogue between Mercosur and the Koreans should happen next week in Uruguay. According to the CNA, the expectation of Brazil is that the talks will evolve.
This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.