A four day round of trade negotiations closed with both delegations reporting progress on tariff schedules and customs procedures, while the treatment of rules of origin remains the principal outstanding question.
The round was the third in a sequence that began last year. Officials described the current stage as technical rather than political, with working groups meeting in parallel on goods, services and regulatory cooperation.
Where agreement was reached
The delegations agreed a phased tariff reduction covering roughly seventy per cent of traded goods lines, with the schedule staggered over seven years and the most sensitive agricultural categories excluded from the first tranche entirely.
On customs, both sides accepted a mutual recognition arrangement for authorised traders, which is expected to shorten clearance times at the two main land crossings. A pilot is to run at one crossing before the arrangement is generalised.
The tariff lines were always going to move. Rules of origin are where an agreement of this kind is actually decided.
The remaining dispute
Rules of origin determine how much of a product must be made within the agreement area to qualify for preferential treatment. One delegation has pressed for a lower threshold that would accommodate supply chains drawing heavily on third country inputs. The other has resisted, arguing that a low threshold would allow goods to transit without meaningful local production.
No date was set for the next round, though officials indicated that technical contact would continue through the intervening period. Both sides said the intention remains to conclude within the current calendar year.
