The bloc founded in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay announced this Wednesday (02.07.2025) in Buenos Aires, during the semi-annual MERCOSUR summit, the successful conclusion of fourteen rounds of negotiations with EFTA, which is made up of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
According to the official statement, the MERCOSUR-EFTA Free Trade Agreement "will create a free trade area for nearly 300 million people with a combined GDP of more than US$4,3 trillion." Furthermore, "both sides will benefit from improved market access for more than 97% of their exports," which will boost bilateral trade and offer advantages to businesses and individuals.
Greater access, clear rules and support for SMEs
The Free Trade Agreement will foster new opportunities for economic agents in both blocs, including a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises. It will provide greater market access and feature modernized regulations for customs clearance and cumulation of origin, resulting in greater predictability and legal certainty for trade. Furthermore, as a comprehensive agreement, it will cover goods, services, investments, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, trade defense, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers, dispute settlement, and a chapter on trade and sustainable development.
As a comprehensive and broad-based treaty, the agreement will cover “trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition, rules of origin, trade defense, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, legal and horizontal matters, including dispute settlement, and a chapter on trade and sustainable development with a corresponding Understanding.”
Signature scheduled for 2025 after 10 years
The negotiation process began in March 2015 with an exploratory dialogue and, after 14 formal rounds, concluded following intensive negotiations between 2024 and 2025. During this latter period, work was done to update and adapt the agreement to current challenges. Finally, both parties expressed their commitment to signing the treaty in the coming months of 2025.
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