Paraguay continued to advocate an equal division of Mercosur’s export quotas for the European Union (EU), with 25% for each country in the bloc, during a foreign ministers’ meeting held Wednesday in Montevideo. Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay presented positions that were closer to one another, while the Paraguayan proposal remains far from consensus.
Paraguay’s Foreign Minister, Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, reiterated the Paraguayan government’s position at the informal meeting, which brought together representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia. Uruguay’s Foreign Minister, Mario Lubetkin, spoke for the meeting and said there is still no unanimity on the allocation criteria.
The quotas are part of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU, which began provisional operation in January after more than 25 years of negotiations. The EU offers tariff-preferential import quotas, but the South American countries must decide how to divide those quotas among the members.
Without a common rule, the available volumes are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. In practice, this leaves exporters dependent on how quickly transactions are registered instead of guaranteeing each country a previously established share. For Paraguayan exporters, the dispute matters because the absence of a defined quota can complicate planning and make access depend on how quickly transactions are registered.
The ministers decided to continue the work of the technical teams and scheduled a new in-person meeting in Montevideo within 45 to 60 days. The aim will be to bring the positions closer together and reach a political decision on the distribution of the quotas.
The Mercosur–EU agreement remains provisionally in force while a court decision in Europe on its legality is pending. The next Mercosur Summit, scheduled for December 3 and 4 in Uruguay, is also expected to address preparations related to the pact and the dispute over the export quotas.