Common market

"We are doing a business that involves 25% of global GDP. It is a great paradigm shift," said the special secretary in a press conference

The special secretary for Foreign Trade and International Affairs of the Ministry of Economy, Marcos Troyjo, spoke on Monday (1/7) in Brasília on the importance of the Mercosur-EU agreement, signed last Friday (28/6 ) in Brussels (Belgium).

 "We are very pleased with the result, it is a great victory for Brazil and it means a modernizing tool for the economy of the entire Mercosur." We have inaugurated a new model of economic development and international insertion, "said Troyjo.

 According to him, from the point of view of political economy, the agreement represents a real change of model, since it allows Brazil and Mercosur countries to abandon a vision based on the "old canons of import substitution" and to move towards a more effective.

 "We are doing a business that involves 25% of the global Gross Domestic Product, it is a great paradigm shift ... There is no country that has been rich in the last 70 years without a very vibrant propulsion spring in foreign trade," he said. The secretary also explained that sometimes international scenarios lead to more protectionism, but international trade prevails and promotes sustainable growth.

 In the current global context of trade disputes, which made it possible for the agreement to be signed, according to Troyjo, it was precisely to seek out for the international environment of greater protectionism. "We perceive this predisposition in European negotiators," the secretary said.

 On the part of Brazil, according to him, there is also a "happy tune" of economic policy with trade policy, which influenced decision-making in favor of a greater international insertion of the country. "With the consolidation of the Ministry of Economy, trade policy has been at the center of economic policy. We have, in the economic team, more or less the same diagnoses and the same prognoses, which allowed us to work in a very fine tuning with the others relevant parts of that agreement, "he recalled, citing that different parts of the federal government worked together to close the deal.

Troyjo classified the successful conclusion of the two-decade negotiation process as the largest trade agreement in history between regions. According to him, this can also be considered the largest agreement in terms of membership - the EU and Mercosur countries - and by geographic coverage. He also recalled that the agreement is not just about tariffs and quotas, since it includes several issues related to the economy of the 21st century, such as sustainable development, investment attraction and harmonization of standards.

Also attending the press conference were Foreign Trade Secretary Lucas Ferraz and Undersecretary for International Negotiations at the Ministry of Economy, Alexandre Lobo.