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11m ago

EU And Mercosur Set To Sign Trade Pact Creating Vast Free-Trade Area

Ratification remains required for a deal that cuts tariffs on about 90% of trade.

Desde la izquierda: el presidente de Argentina, Javier Milei, el expresidente de Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, la presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, el presidente de Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, y el presidente de Paraguay, Santiago Peña, posan para una fotografía durante la Cumbre del Mercosur en Montevideo, Uruguay, el viernes 6 de diciembre de 2024. (AP Foto/Matilde Campodonico)
Image
Chatenay-Malabry (France), 15/01/2026.- A cow model painted in the colours of the French national flag with the words 'Fair trade milk' is displayed during a protest by farmers from agriculture and dairy industry unions against the EU-Mercosur deal, outside Lidl's headquarters in Chatenay-Malabry suburb, southwest of Paris, 15 January 2026. France's second-largest agricultural union, Coordination Rurale (CR), along with the APLI and the European Milk Board (EMB), has called for demonstrations to defend the farming profession, and to protest the influx of non-compliant imports replacing French products following the EU's approval of the Mercosur trade deal on 09 January 2026. Despite fierce opposition from the farming sector, the deal, which creates the world's largest free trade zone, is scheduled for official signing on 17 January 2026, in Asuncion, Paraguay. (Protestas, Francia) EFE/EPA/MOHAMMED BADRA
Javier Milei, en la Sesión Plenaria de la Cúpula de Jefes de Estado de los Estados Partes de Mercosur y de los Estados Asociados en Foz de Iguazú (Brasil). Foto: EFE.

Overview

  • The signing is scheduled in Asunción at the Gran Teatro José Asunción Flores, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa leading the EU delegation.
  • Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not attend, with Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira representing Brazil after Lula met von der Leyen and Costa in Rio de Janeiro.
  • Covering more than 700 million people, the agreement phases out most tariffs and sets quotas and safeguards for sensitive farm goods, including 99,000 tonnes of beef, 180,000 tonnes of poultry and 180,000 tonnes of sugar.
  • Farmer groups across Europe and environmental NGOs maintain opposition, and EU institutions agreed tighter safeguard triggers allowing probes if imports and prices move by roughly 5% over three years.
  • Following the ceremony, the trade chapter could be applied provisionally and will still require a vote in the European Parliament and ratification by Mercosur legislatures for full entry into force.