COTANCE joins Mercosur FTA appeal
Leather industry body COTANCE has joined 18 other European trade bodies in an appeal to the European Commission to accelerate the conclusion of a proposed free trade agreement between the European Union and South American economic bloc Mercosur.
In a letter dated July 4, the signatories said the EU-Mercosur agreement could be the key to preserving the competitiveness of the different industries they represent. “It would offer us an opportunity to diversify our export markets and the portfolio of suppliers of critical industrial inputs,” the letter said.
Negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and the four member states of Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, where the bloc has its headquarters) concluded in 2019, but the agreement has not yet been ratified.
