First Round of MERCOSUR–Singapore Negotiations
From April 22 to 26, 2019, the First Round of Trade Negotiations between MERCOSUR and Singapore was held in Buenos Aires. According to Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the delegation from that country—currently holding the rotating presidency of the bloc—and from MERCOSUR was headed by José María Arbilla, National Director of International Trade Negotiations at Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Singaporean delegation was led by Chief Negotiator Francis Chong, Director for Emerging Markets at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Both parties addressed a range of issues related to strengthening and deepening trade relations, including Market Access for Goods, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Customs Cooperation and Trade Facilitation, Trade in Services, Investment, and a chapter on the interaction between micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
This is MERCOSUR’s first trade negotiation with a member country of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The agreement seeks to establish balanced and effective access to both parties’ markets for goods, services, investment, and government procurement. Argentina and MERCOSUR also hope that this agreement with one of Asia’s leading logistics hubs will serve as a gateway for MERCOSUR exports to Southeast Asia. Singapore is also a major global investor, and a trade agreement could help attract investment from that country to the economies of the MERCOSUR bloc.
The Asian power represents an attractive market for Argentina due to its high GDP per capita, market sophistication, and status as a net importer of food. In 2018, Argentina exported products such as Patagonian toothfish, frozen poultry, whey, and lemons to Singapore. More broadly, ASEAN has in recent years emerged as one of the main destinations for Argentine exports.
