PA initials free trade deal with mercosur bloc

The Palestinian Authority Monday initialed a free trade agreement with the Mercosur, an economic union of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The agreement will help enhance and develop bilateral trade and economic relations between  Palestine and Mercosur, in addition to eliminating taxes on goods and services traded between them, said Valeria Tucasi, head of the Mercosur delegation who signed the agreement on behalf of her economic bloc. Minister of Economy, Hasan Abu Libdeh, speaking on behalf of the PA, said the final agreement will be officially signed by the Mercosur state members in December during their annual convention in the Uruguayan capitol, Montevideo, in the presence of President Mahmoud Abbas. He stressed the importance of this agreement with Mercosur, the fifth largest economy in the world. He said it enhances Palestinian efforts to rally international support for Palestinian application for membership in the United Nations submitted on September 23.