The fifth round of free trade negotiations between EFTA and Mercosur States took place in Buenos Aires on 8-12 October 2018.

During the round, the Mercosur delegation was headed by Victorio Carpintieri, Deputy Secretary for Mercosur and International Negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Argentina, while Mr Jan Farberg, Director General at the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, acted as the EFTA Spokesperson.

With three rounds already held during this year, and one more round planned before the end of the year, the delegations aim for swift progress in their negotiations. This fifth round allowed expert working groups and Heads of delegations to continue their work in all areas of the draft agreement and make good progress on substantive and technical issues, with some areas close to conclusion.

Expert working groups convening this round were: Trade in Goods; Rules of Origin; Trade Facilitation; Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; Technical Barriers to Trade; Trade Remedies; Trade in Services; Investment; Intellectual Property Rights; Government Procurement; and Trade and Sustainable Development. The working group on Legal and Horizontal Issues will convene in Buenos Aires the week after the round.

Read more on EFTA-MERCOSUR negotiations and trade statistics.