BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Argentine President Javier Milei said Saturday that the trade agreement between the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the EU "is a starting point within a broader plan of economic engagement with various international partners" for his country.
Milei attended the signing ceremony earlier in the day in Paraguay's capital of Asuncion, along with leaders and officials from both sides. The agreement was reached after more than 25 years of negotiations.
The deal is intended to reduce tariffs and expand trade between the two blocs and now awaits approval by the European Parliament, as well as ratification by the legislatures of Mercosur member states Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The deal covers a combined population of more than 700 million people.
"Isolation and protectionism, shielded by rhetoric instead of results, are the main causes of economic stagnation and the growth of poverty," Milei said, stressing that "Argentina has chosen openness, competition and integration into the world."
The agreement marks a step toward "building a more prosperous Argentina and a Mercosur that plays a leading role on the global stage," he said in a statement released by the Argentine presidency.
Milei said Argentina "will move decisively" to ratify the deal.
He also warned against introducing mechanisms "such as quotas, safeguards or equivalent measures" that could "significantly reduce the agreement's economic impact and undermine its essential objective."
Argentina's foreign ministry described the agreement as "a historic milestone for Argentine economic policy," adding that "exports to the EU are expected to grow by around 76 percent within the first five years of the agreement's entry into force and by up to 122 percent over a 10-year period."
In value terms, exports to the EU would more than double their 2025 level, estimated at nearly 8.64 billion U.S. dollars, over a decade, the ministry added. ■
