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MERCOSUR free trade agreement: the new text (environmental clauses and rules of origin)
In this article, we share the latest changes made on the text of the free trade agreement published by EU on 2019. We’ll focus on: Environmental changes (Paris agreement and specific section on sustainable development); Rules of origin for calculating the preferential origin (reduced customs duty) under the free trade agreement between the EU and MERCOSUR (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay). ENVIRONMENTAL CLAUSES It is important to start from the evironmental provisions of the abovementioned free trade agreement. About the “climate change” the parties declare that the Paris agreement is an essential element of the next trade relationships. Indeed, they declare that: “ The Parties reiterate their commitment to the…
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New GSP framework, sustainable development and good governance: a check of the principles.
The ProposalCOM(2021)579 will set up a new framework of the European generalized system of preference which is: part of EU common commercial policy (unilateral preferential origin treatment for goods originating from the eligibile countries): sustainable development and good goverance; consistent with with the analysis and perspective of the Commission Communication Trade Policy Review: An Open, Sustainable and Assertive Trade Policy of 18 February 2021; consistent with EU green agenda and UN suistainable goals; The key stone of GSP is the “conditionality”: a country should not benefit from preferential trade arrangements if it is acting in a way that is contrary to international standards and principles and thereby also to its…