European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in Baabda, Lebanon, on January 9, 2026. MOHAMED AZAKIR / REUTERS
The trade agreement between the European Union and the four founding countries of the Mercado Común del Sur (Mercosur), Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, has not yet been finalized. However, more than 26 years after the negotiations began, the deal reached a crucial milestone on Friday, January 9. A qualified majority of the 27 EU member states approved the agreement that the European Commission, acting on their behalf, and the South American countries had reached in December 2024. A “historic trade deal,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
France, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Ireland opposed the deal, while Belgium abstained from the vote. The meeting of EU ambassadors, which confirmed the presence of a relative majority of support for the free trade agreement, thus concluded with a massive “yes” to the deal. With this mandate to sign the agreement, von der Leyen is now expected to soon travel to Paraguay, likely on Monday, January 12, to seal the deal with the South American leaders.
Read more Subscribers only EU-Mercosur deal set to be signed, with or without France’s support
The EU-Mercosur trade agreement would create a free trade zone comprising more than 700 million consumers. It stipulates that the South American bloc countries will, over 15 years, remove their tariffs on 91% of products imported from Europe, such as automobiles, which are currently subject to 35% tariffs, and wine (17%). The EU will, in turn, phase out its own tariffs on 92% of all exports from the Mercosur countries.
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