Official sources informed that the Free Trade Agreement between MERCOSUR and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), a bloc founded in 1960 and comprised of Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, will be signed during the meeting.

This agreement will create a free trade zone for some 300 million consumers and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of nearly 4.3 trillion dollars.

The alliance will cover trade in goods and services, investment, trade defense, intellectual property, public procurement, competition, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade, among others.

Its entry into force depends on the parliamentary approval in each nation.

Negotiations with EFTA moved forward at the same time with those the bloc is conducting to finalize the free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), which has been submitted to the European Council for its approval.

The priorities of Brazil’s current pro tempore presidency of MERCOSUR will be presented at the meeting in Rio, and the prospects for the regional integration process will be discussed.

The Brazilian presidency will emphasize the importance of supporting Bolivia’s full accession to the mechanism founded in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

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