WT/REG398/M/1  
 
12 October 2020 
(20-6999) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  
Ninety -seven th Session    
 
 
THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN SOUTHERN COMMON  
MARKET (MERCOSUR) AND ISRAEL  (GOODS ) 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF  22 SEPTEMBER  2020 
Chairm an: Ambassador H.E. Mr. Mārtiņš KREITUS (Latvia ) 
1.1.  The 9 7th Session of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (hereinafter  "CRTA " or the 
"Committee ") was convened in Airgram WTO/AIR/RTA/ 22/Rev.1  dated 8 September  2020. 
1.2.  Under Agenda Item C.II of the Session, the CRTA considered the Free Trade Agreement 
between Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and Israel, goods  (hereinafter  "the Agreement").  
The Chairman  stated that the F actual Presentation  had been prepared by the Secretariat on its own 
responsibility in full consultation with t he Parties, in accordance with paragraph 7(b) of the 
Transparency Mechanism for Regional Trade Agreements (document WT/L/671).  
1.3.  The Chairman  indicated that the Agreement  had entered into force on 23 December 2009 for 
Uruguay and Israel; 24 March 2010 for Pa raguay and Israel; 3 April 2010 for Brazil and Israel; and 
9 September 2011 for Argentina and Israel. The Agreement had been  notified to the WTO by the 
Parties on 29 March 2019 under Article  XXIV:7(a) of the GATT  1994 as an agreement establishing a 
free trade area (document  WT/REG398/N/1). The text of the Agreement was available, together 
with its Annexes, on the Parties' official websites. The Factual Presentation – document  
WT/REG398/1 , dated 3 July 2020 , and questions and replies on t he Agreement , document 
WT/REG398/2 , dated 15 September 2020 , had been distributed.  
1.4.  The representative of Israel, speaking also o n behalf of the States Parties to the Southern 
Common Market - Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay  - thank ed the Secretariat f or the 
comprehensive Factual Presentation, and those Members who had displayed particular interest and 
raised thoughtful questions on the Agreement  – specifically Chile, Thailand and Mexico.  
1.5.  The Agreement  was in full compliance with the principles of the W TO and other trade 
agreements the  Parties ha d signed previously, and it ha d some of the following specific objectives 
as laid out in Article 3 of the Agreement  - eliminate barriers to trade and facilitate the movement of 
goods between the Parties;  promote conditions of fair competition in the free trade area;  increase 
substantially investment opportunities  between  the Parties and increase cooperation in areas which  
were of mutual interest to the Parties.  
1.6.  According to 2017 data, the MERCOSUR  States collectively were Israel's 18th largest source of 
imports and the 8th largest destination for exports. Israel was MERCOSUR's 28th largest source of 
imports and 40th largest destination for exports. It could thus be seen  that there  was room for grow th 
and hopefully the Agreement  would forge closer and more substantive economic relations between 
the Parties.  In terms of commodit ies trade, the main commodity group exported collectively by 
MERCOSUR  was agricultural products, which represented roughly 61 % in 2017. In the case of Israel, 
it was dominated by manufactures, which accounted for roughly for 92% for the same period.  
Although investment and trade in services were not a direct subject of the Agreement, the  Parties 
did acknowledge their importance.  
1.7.  A major priority for the Parties was to make the best use of opportunities presented by the 
Agreement and to bring its anticipated benefits to its respective citizens. Effective implementation WT/REG398/M/1  
 
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  would b oost the ir respective economies, and hopefully increase the attractiveness of the Parties as 
a viable investment destination, create a better environment for local as well as international 
businesses and facilitate further economic modernization.   
1.8.  Concludi ng his remarks, he indicated that the Parties  looked forward to responding to any 
further questions or comments.  
1.9.  The representative of the European Union  thanked the Parties for their presentation of the 
Agreement. The EU also appreciated very much the Factual Presentation that had been prepared by 
the Secretariat.  
1.10.   The representative of Mexico  acknowledge d the transparency  exercise and the Parties' 
responses to Mexico 's questions which were being follow ed-up in capital.  
1.11.   The representative of the United States  thanked the Parties and the Secretariat for the 
transparency on the Agreement. She invited the Parties to inform the Committee why it had taken 
so long to notify the Agreement which had been  signed in 2007 but only notified in 2019. Similarly, 
she knew that both Parties continued to have non-notified agreements that were in force. It was the 
United States'  hope that these agreements would be  notified promptly .  
1.12.   The representative of Israel  thanked the European Union, Mexico and the United States for 
the comments  made.  With respect to the question posed by the United States, he would consult with 
capital and would get back with a reply.  
1.13.   The Chairman  noted that the consideration of the Goods Asp ect of the Free Trade Agreement 
between Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) and Israel had allowed the Committee  to clarify a 
number of questions and it could thus conclude oral discussion of the RTA in accordance with 
paragraph 11 of the Transparency Mechan ism. If delegations wished to ask follow -up questions , they 
were invited to forward submissions in writing to the Secretariat by 29 September 2020. Parties 
were asked to submit replies in writing by no later than 13 October 2020. In accordance with 
paragraph  13 of the Transparency Mechanism all written submissions, as well as minutes of the 
meeting would be circulated promptly, in all WTO  official languages, and will be made available on  the 
WTO website . 
1.14.   The Committee took note  of the comments made.  
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