{"id":523513,"date":"2026-01-17T20:07:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T20:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/523513\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T20:07:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T20:07:12","slug":"european-union-and-mercosur-bloc-of-south-american-nations-sign-landmark-free-trade-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/523513\/","title":{"rendered":"European Union and Mercosur bloc of South American nations sign landmark free trade agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

ASUNCI\u00d3N, Paraguay (AP) \u2014 The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries formally signed a long-sought landmark free trade agreement<\/a> on Saturday, capping more than a quarter-century of torturous negotiations to strengthen commercial ties in the face of rising protectionism and trade tensions around the world.<\/p>\n

The signing ceremony in Paraguay\u2019s humid capital of Asunci\u00f3n marks a major geopolitical victory for the EU in an age of American tariffs and surging Chinese exports, expanding the bloc\u2019s foothold in a resource-rich region increasingly contested<\/a> by Washington and Beijing.<\/p>\n

It also sends a message that South America keeps diverse trade and diplomatic relations even as U.S. President Donald Trump declares dominance in the Western Hemisphere<\/a>.<\/p>\n

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who head\u2019s the EU\u2019s executive branch, said \u201cthe geopolitical importance of this agreement cannot be overstated\u201d amid revived skepticism about the benefits of free trade. As the ceremony got underway, Trump announced 10% tariffs<\/a> on eight European nations over their opposition to American control of Greenland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe choose fair trade over tariffs. We choose a productive long-term partnership over isolation,\u201d von der Leyen declared at the ceremony attended by the presidents of Mercosur members Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, and by the foreign minister of the trading bloc\u2019s biggest economy, Brazil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will join forces like never before, because we believe that this is the best way to make our people and our countries prosper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pushed by South America\u2019s renowned cattle-raising countries and Europe\u2019s industrial sectors craving new markets for cars and machines, the accord creates one of the world\u2019s largest free trade zones and makes shopping cheaper for more than 700 million consumers. <\/p>\n

After decades of delay, the politically explosive deal still must clear one final hurdle: ratification by the European Parliament.<\/p>\n

Powerful protectionist lobbies on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly European farmers scared of the possible dumping of cheap South American agricultural imports, have long sought to scupper the agreement. Tractor drivers clogged the streets in outrage across the continent in recent weeks and could still stall the deal\u2019s implementation.<\/p>\n

Although the accord eliminates more than 90% tariffs on goods and services between the European and Mercosur markets, some tariffs will progressively be cut over 10-15 years and key farm products like beef will be limited by strict quotas in a bid to assuage European farmers\u2019 fears.<\/p>\n

Those limits, as well as safeguard measures and generous EU subsidies to cash-strapped farmers, pushed agricultural powerhouse Italy across the line earlier this month. <\/p>\n

France, however, remains opposed to the accord, with President Emmanuel Macron worrying that farmers\u2019 frustration with the EU could drive more voters to the country\u2019s far right in the 2027 presidential election.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything will depend on the political appetite of the European Parliament,\u201d said Jo\u00e3o Paulo Cavalcanti, a Brazilian lawyer specializing in international trade. \u201cThat could clearly create an obstacle to approval.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ASUNCI\u00d3N, Paraguay (AP) \u2014 The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries formally signed a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":523514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,69,8703,440,8697,57,3464,6604,13790,232814,1612,50,53137,80,4217,16618,370,2856,103,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-523513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-emmanuel-macron","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european-union","13":"tag-general-news","14":"tag-international-agreements","15":"tag-international-news","16":"tag-international-trade","17":"tag-joo-paulo-cavalcanti","18":"tag-latin-america","19":"tag-news","20":"tag-paraguay","21":"tag-politics","22":"tag-south-america","23":"tag-tariffs-and-global-trade","24":"tag-united-states-government","25":"tag-ursula-von-der-leyen","26":"tag-world","27":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115912248253978141","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}