Mercosur opens Japan EPA talks amid global trade uncertainty
A proposed pact would link Japan with the South American bloc, raising hopes for market access while stoking concern among Japanese farmers.
- The South American trade bloc Mercosur has formally launched negotiations with Japan for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
- This move is a strategic response to growing global trade uncertainty, including high-tariff policies from the United States.
- The potential agreement would cover an economic area of 400 million people with a combined GDP of about $7 trillion, aiming to boost market access and investment.
- While Japan's auto sector is interested in the deal, its farmers are concerned about a potential rise in lower-cost agricultural imports from Brazil and Argentina.
Mercosur has moved to widen its trade options by formally launching negotiations with Japan for an economic partnership agreement at a summit in the Paraguayan capital, Asunción, on Tuesday (June 30).
The proposed EPA would bring Japan together with the South American bloc, whose members include Brazil and Argentina, in an economic area of around 400 million people and a combined gross domestic product of about US$7 trillion if the deal is concluded.
The launch followed talks on June 16 between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Évian, eastern France. The two leaders agreed to begin negotiations on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit.
In a joint statement, Mercosur, also known as the Southern Common Market, said an agreement with Japan would broaden “market access and mutual investment” across agricultural and non-agricultural sectors.
For Japan, the South American market is drawing particular interest from the automobile sector. The talks, however, are also stirring concern among farmers over a possible rise in lower-cost imports from a region where Brazil and Argentina are among the world’s major exporters of agricultural and livestock products.
Mercosur is pressing ahead with the Japan track as global trade faces greater uncertainty from the high-tariff policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration. The bloc’s free trade agreement with the European Union began provisional application in May.
Lula also told Tuesday’s meeting that Brazil was moving forward in dialogue with Canada, India and Vietnam, and signalled an intention to begin talks with China.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
