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Scholz said that the EU-Chile agreement was a “model” and an example for Mercosur

Santiago de Chile, Jan 30 (EFE).- German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, described Monday as an “example” of the modernization of the association agreement between the European Union and Chile, and said it could “serve as a model” for agreements negotiated by the bloc with Mercosur, which consists of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. “We are not talking about just any trade agreement, but about one of the most modern in the world,” Scholz said at a meeting in Santiago with Chilean and German businessmen. The new EU-Chile agreement, he explained, “has an exemplary character because it sets new criteria in environmental and social matters, and strengthens the resilience of our economies in Europe and Chile.” After five years of negotiations, the EU and Chile announced on December 9 an agreement to modernize the agreement that has governed bilateral relations for two decades. With the new agreement, which has not yet entered into force, the community bloc is seeking to diversify the supply of raw materials critical for ecological transition (such as lithium) and reduce dependence on China. Under the agreed text, 99.9% of EU exports to Chile will be tariff-free, while the South American country will achieve full liberalization of 96.5% of the products it sends to community clubs. The European Commission (EC) last week stated that the agreement could not be signed until the end of the year, as the text is in the process of legal scrutiny and translation, the necessary steps to proceed with signing. “We will do everything possible to get into effect as quickly as possible,” said Scholz, who is making his first tour of South America since taking office in December 2021 and which includes Argentina, Chile and Brazil. The EU is the leading foreign investor in Chile and its third trading partner: trade between the two has doubled in the last two decades and reached a value of 13.4 billion euros (14.562 billion dollars) in 2020. According to figures from the Central Bank, the stock of foreign direct investment ( EU FDI) in Chile totaled 89,800 million euros (97,581 million dollars) in 2019, 36% of the total installed. The German chancellor, who will travel to Brazil this Monday, assured that the agreement could “serve as a model” for the agreement being negotiated with Mercosur and said that during her meeting with the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, she would urge negotiations “to move forward.” “. “The change of government in Brazil in particular has raised expectations for a speedy conclusion,” he added. Some EU countries, such as France or Austria, have expressed reluctance in the past to ratify the agreement, especially in light of the environmental policies of Brazil’s previous government, led until December by far-right Jair Bolsonaro. “I firmly believe that the right answer to today’s challenges is not national confinement, deglobalization or tariff barriers, but greater exchange,” concluded the chancellor. (c) EFE Agency