Overview
- Delegations sealed the agreement in Asunción at the Gran Teatro José Asunción Flores, with EU leaders in attendance, Argentina’s Javier Milei present, and Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva absent and represented by his foreign minister.
- The pact phases out roughly 90–92% of bilateral tariffs and spans a market of about 700–780 million people, with chapters on investment, standards, labor and environmental commitments including traceability.
- To address European farm concerns, negotiators added safeguard tools that can trigger investigations and measures if imports of sensitive products rise by an average of 5% and prices fall by a similar amount over three years.
- Entry into force requires approval by the European Parliament and each Mercosur member’s legislature, though the EU’s commercial chapter could be applied provisionally once the first Mercosur country ratifies.
- Officials highlight asymmetric short‑term gains—greater access for Mercosur agro‑exports and savings of several billion dollars in annual EU tariffs for industry—alongside a strategic push to diversify partnerships in a fragmenting global economy.