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🤝 Mercosur to sign new trade deal
While the free-trade agreement with the EU stalls, Mercosur finds a new partner. A massive hacker attack rocks the financial system. And the details of a new credit program for farmers
Gustavo Ribeiro, Ignacio Portes & Letícia Arcoverde
July 02, 2025
TRADE
Mercosur close to announcing new trade deal
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and President Lula during the December 2024 Mercosur Summit. Photo: Ricardo Stuckert/PR
A free-trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) — formed by Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein — is close to being signed, sources familiar with negotiations have told The Brazilian Report. Swiss officials have crisscrossed South America in recent weeks to resolve remaining obstacles, particularly regarding intellectual property issues with Brazil.
In Buenos Aires, Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin met Argentina’s top economic and foreign affairs officials after holding talks in Brasília with Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira. The deal could be announced today or tomorrow, when Mercosur holds its summit in the Argentine capital.
👉 Why it matters. This would mark a significant milestone for Mercosur, the South American bloc comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and, since last year, Bolivia. Mercosur has grappled with internal rifts, especially over Uruguay’s threats to pursue a bilateral pact with China (despite the bloc’s rule preventing such moves). Sealing a trade agreement with the EFTA would demonstrate the bloc’s capacity to still work together as one.
In 2024, the EFTA shipped over EUR 5.2 billion (USD 6.12 billion) worth of goods to Mercosur, mainly pharmaceuticals, chemicals and machinery. Mercosur sent back just under EUR 1.2 billion, largely in agricultural and mining products such as coffee, aluminium and meat. The agreement aims tod lower tariffs further, clarify rules of origin and expand opportunities in services and government procurement — areas negotiators tackled during a 12th formal round of talks in Buenos Aires in March.
Meanwhile, the more politically fraught Mercosur-European Union trade deal continues to sputter. After languishing for years, negotiators in December reached what they described as a “mutually agreed-upon text,” reviving hopes for a vast free-trade zone spanning over 750 million people.
But France remains the deal’s fiercest opponent. President Emmanuel Macron, under pressure from farmers and lawmakers, has vowed to build a blocking minority within the EU. French lawmakers have claimed that South American farmers do not abide by the same environmental standards as European ones and want tighter rules on the issue — which Brazilian officials have denounced as “green protectionism.”
French farmers’ lobbies, particularly influential through highly politicized unions, remain entrenched in scapegoating the deal for their woes. But the Mercosur-EU deal has supporters even within the agricultural sector — wine producers, desperate to offset falling consumption and fresh US tariffs, being among the loudest.
“Brazil’s 27% duty is a major drag on our companies’ competitiveness,” said Ignacio Sánchez Recarte of the European wine industry body CEEV, which is urging Brussels to push the deal across the finish line. The agreement would eliminate such barriers and protect Europe’s prized geographical indications, offering a lifeline to vintners from across the EU.
For now, though, the smaller EFTA accord could offer Mercosur a much-needed demonstration of vitality.
TRADE
Mercosur close to announcing new trade deal
A free-trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) — formed by Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein — is close to being signed, sources familiar with negotiations have told The Brazilian Report. Swiss officials have crisscrossed South America in recent weeks to resolve remaining obstacles, particularly regarding intellectual property issues with Brazil.
In Buenos Aires, Swiss Economy Minister Guy Parmelin met Argentina’s top economic and foreign affairs officials after holding talks in Brasília with Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira. The deal could be announced today or tomorrow, when Mercosur holds its summit in the Argentine capital…
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