Unica: UE trava acesso ao mercado de etanol
As negociações entre União Europeia (UE) e Mercosul sobre um acordo de livre comércio não estão melhorando o acesso do etanol sul-americano ao mercado europeu, de acordo com a União da Indústria de Cana-de-Açúcar (Unica).
O Mercosul – bloco composto por Argentina, Brasil, Paraguai e Uruguai – pode desistir das negociações caso não seja obtido um acordo "razoável" para o comércio de açúcar e etanol, disse a Unica.
A comissão europeia buscava selar um acordo político com o Mercosul antes do fim de 2017, o que implicaria em maiores volumes de etanol fabricado em países do Mercosul entrando na UE.
Na semana passada, o bloco europeu disse que as conversas com o Mercosul não estavam avançando. A assessora sênior da presidência da Unica para assuntos internacionais, Geraldine Kutas, disse que "as ofertas da UE estão aquém do aceitável para o Mercosul".
A Unica já havia dito que as ofertas da UE eram insuficientes. O grupo solicitou uma cota de 600.000t para o etanol biocombustível e livre acesso ao mercado para o etanol destinado a outros propósitos.
"O setor agrícola do Mercosul sempre apoiou um acordo, mas isso não pode ser dado como certo se a proposta não oferece real acesso ao mercado", disse Kutas.
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