The EU-Mercosur trade agreement

The EU already has trade deals in place with nearly all other countries in Latin America. Securing an agreement with the Mercosur countries allows to further extend preferential access for EU exporters and strengthen political ties with Latin American countries.

The EU's partnership agreement with Mercosur will

• make it easier for EU firms to sell and invest in Mercosur
• secure sustainable access to raw materials, strengthening the EU’s economic security
• help the EU and Mercosur shape global trade rules, in line with the highest EU standards
• send a powerful signal in favour of rules-based trade and against protectionism
• further integrate value chains between the two regions, helping industries on both sides to stay competitive on the global market
• promote European values through commitments on sustainable development, climate change and worker’s rights

The agreement with Mercosur will have a balanced impact on the EU market. It creates better conditions to trade certain products. But it also sets limits (i.e. quotas) on the quantity of Mercosur products which can benefit from better trade conditions. Therefore, reduced tariffs do not apply to everything, and do not apply in an unlimited manner. This is especially the case for agricultural products, where the EU only opens its market in a limited way, and subject to many conditions such as respect of EU safety rules, and reasonable increase in imports. 

No. The agreement is a balanced deal that benefits all sectors of the EU economy. 

EU industrial exports represent 91% of our total exports to the world, which is why the deal has sometimes been portrayed as “good for exporting cars”. However, the agreement also opens many opportunities for exports of the agri-food sector. With the deal, EU agri-food exports to Mercosur countries are expected to increase by 50%, representing €1.2 billion in additional export value for the EU’s famous food and drink products.  

This is thanks to the reduction of very high Mercosur tariffs on EU exports with the agreement in place. Previously, EU agri-food exports to Mercosur countries represented only 6% of our exports to the region, mainly because of very high Mercosur tariffs. But with the deal in place, tariffs will be progressively eliminated on products such as wine, currently subject to a tariff of up to 35%, olive oil, subject to tariffs up to 31.5%, and cheese, subject to 28% tariffs. 

The EU-Mercosur agreement is subject to democratic control at every stage. 

The governments of EU countries and Members of the European Parliament were actively involved in the 25-year negotiation process. The European Commission negotiated the trade deal on behalf of the EU, following a mandate given by all EU countries. The process was transparent and accountable. The European Parliament also set up a special Monitoring Group to follow the negotiations closely. 

Ultimately, the decision to sign and conclude the agreement is made by the 27 governments in the Council, requiring a qualified majority. Member State governments empowered the Commission to provisionally apply the EU-Mercosur agreement as soon as Mercosur countries had ratified the agreement on their end. This allows EU companies to reap the benefits of the agreement as early as 1 May 2026. The agreement will come into force formally when the European Parliament has given its consent.  

The most sensitive sectors include beef, poultry and sugar. To protect them from foreign competition the agreement: 

• sets limits, or ‘quotas’, on how much can be imported
• gradually reduces the import tariffs   

The EU can quickly stop or limit these imports if an increase causes, or even only threatens to cause, serious injury to the relevant EU sectors. Close monitoring of the level of imports is also done to be able to investigate any concern. 

For example: 

Beef: 99,000 tons of beef imported from Mercosur will benefit from a reduced tariff of 7.5%. This represents the equivalent of 1.5% of the current EU beef production. It therefore means that only a very small amount of Mercosur beef (equivalent of 1.5% of the EU production) will enter the EU market at reduced duties, while there will be no duty-free quota for beef. 

Poultry: 180,000 tons of poultry imported from Mercosur will benefit from the elimination of duties, to be phased in over 5 years. This means that only the equivalent of 1.3% of the current EU production of poultry will benefit from the elimination of tariffs, and it will be done in a gradual and monitored way. 

Ethanol: 450,000 tons of ethanol imported from Mercosur will benefit from the elimination of duties. This will strictly be limited to the chemical industry use. 

Rice: 60,000 tons of rice imported from Mercosur will benefit from the elimination of duties, to be phased in over 5 years. The EU is not self-sufficient in its rice production, as it produces less than 50% of its rice needs. 

Honey: 45,000 tons of honey imported from Mercosur will benefit from the elimination of duties, to be phased in over 5 years. It will be done in a gradual and monitored way. 

About 13% of all EU imports in 2025 came from Mercosur countries. Most of these products cannot be produced or easily found in our markets.  

The main imports from Mercosur countries in 2025 were:  

- Oilseed and protein crops (34%, worth €8.55 billion) 

- Coffee, tea, cocoa and spices (26.4%, worth €6.66 billion) 

- Beef and veal (7.7%, worth €1.94 billion) 

- Fruits and nuts (7.6%, worth €1.91 billion) 

EU farmers will be shielded from any potential market disruptions, in particular through a €6.3 billion safety net that the EU is setting up under its next long-term EU budget.