O Brasil, o Mercosul e a União Europeia: as relações comerciais bilaterais e o Acordo de Associação

Abstract

In 2019, trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur were concluded to form an Association Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. If and when it comes into force, the trade agreement between them will constitute one of the largest free trade areas in the world. This paperwork seeks to answer the following research question: If and how the strategic partnership between Brazil and the European Union influence the negotiation process between the Association Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, signed in 2019? The general scope of this work is to analyze the evolution of trade issues between Mercosur, especially Brazil, and the European Union. To this end, the present study has the following specific objectives: a) examine the negotiation process of the Association Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union from the initial proposals (2000) until the conclusion of the agreement negotiations (2019); b) finally, present the issues that prevent the ratification of the Treaty, whether by European Union member states or by Mercosur participants. In this qualitative research, the inductive method was chosen. The theoretical basis of the text is Robert Putnam's two-level game theory (2008), about collective action and democratic governance that had an impact on Political Science. Another concept used is the complex interdependence of Robert O. Keohane and Joseph Nye from 1977. Furthermore, open regionalism according to Andrew Hurrell (1995), a form of regional integration that promotes economic openness and cooperation between member countries. Finally, post-liberal regionalism is a combination of regionalism and liberalism. The text was based on data and documents available on official websites, such as the European Union and Mercosur website, the concord system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (APEX), among others. Furthermore, the bibliographic review method of articles, books, theses and dissertations was used.