São Paulo – Mercosur and Palestine have promised to sign a free trade treaty next Tuesday (20th). The partnership should be signed during the summit of the South American bloc in Montevideo, Uruguay, by the heads of state of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina, and by the Palestinian ministers of Economy, Hassan Abu-Libdeh, and Foreign Relations, Ryad Al-Malki.
The Palestinian ambassador to the Brazilian capital Brasília, Ibrahin Al-Zeben, told ANBA that the signing of the agreement is crucial to the sovereignty of the Palestinian state, and strategically very important to the country. “It paves the way for the flow of trade with the Mercosur, which is currently under economic restrictions [imposed by Israel]. The agreement frees us from these restrictions,” he says.
Presently, the products Palestine exports go to Israel, and from there they leave to their destination. As a result, they are often rated as products exported from Israel. After the treaty with the Mercosur, these products will be labelled as Palestinian exports.
According to the Itamaraty (Brazilian foreign office), the strongest demand in Palestine is for manufactured goods. Al-Zeben claims that Palestine essentially needs foodstuffs – mostly beef and grain, but also industrialized products, such as chocolate. In turn, Palestine may export handcrafted religious items, olive oil and marble.
“The agreement is also beneficial to the Mercosur, because it gives access to an emerging market on its way to reconstruction. It will open up future opportunities, especially in civil construction,” says Al-Zeben.
Palestine is seeking recognition as a state at the United Nations (UN) , but it is pending approval from the UN Security council. The United States, however, have already announced that it will use its veto powers. Still, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) raised the Palestinian flag for the first time ever last Tuesday (13th). To the Unesco, Palestine is the 195th member state.
Palestine maintains a free trade agreement with the Arab countries and the European Union. The Mercosur maintains a similar treaty with Israel, which entered into force in 2010, though it was signed in 2009.
The deal with the Palestinians should not become effective immediately because the Parliaments of the four South American countries are required to vote on it. From January to November this year, Brazil exported the equivalent of US$ 14.2 million in products to Palestine and imported US$ 17,000.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
