The government of Paraguay is engaged in technical coordination to prepare the country's state and productive structure for the rules of the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. The initiative was detailed during a training and outreach program promoted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), held at the financial institution's headquarters in Asunción.
Vice Minister of Economy and Planning Gerardo Ruiz Díaz stated that interinstitutional coordination and technical commitment will be decisive factors for Paraguay to achieve an adequate adaptation to European requirements and take advantage of the competitive benefits of the bi-regional pact. "The impact of the agreement on the Paraguayan economy goes beyond the initial goal of expanding trade with a bloc of approximately 450 million high-purchasing-power consumers," Ruiz Díaz emphasized.
He said the underlying strategy seeks to use the agreement as a catalyst to strengthen the country's international insertion, diversify the export destination matrix, attract foreign direct investment, and structure a local ecosystem conducive to the development of more sophisticated, competitive, and high-value-added industrial production.
Among the sectors with the greatest expansion potential under the agreement's quotas and preferences are beef, biofuels, sugar, vegetable oils, the forestry industry, leather, and processed agro-based foods, as well as logistics and technology services linked to foreign trade. There are also favorable prospects for Paraguay's incorporation into regional value chains through the export of light manufactures, differentiated foods with origin certification, wood products, technical textiles, basic chemicals, and specific industrial goods.
The event was attended by IDB representative in the country Alonso Chaverri-Suárez and brought together technical teams from the ministries of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Foreign Affairs, and Agriculture and Livestock, as well as representatives from the National Directorate of Tax Revenues (DNIT), the National Animal Quality and Health Service (Senacsa), and the National Plant and Seed Quality and Health Service (Senave). These institutions will be responsible for oversight, certification, and control of trade flows under the new international parameters.