29 Ene 26 Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and MERCOSUR

Martín Chindamo y Tomás Mingrone

On January 17, 2026, the European Union (the “EU”) and the Southern Common Market (“MERCOSUR” for its acronym in Spanish) signed the EU–MERCOSUR Partnership Agreement (the “EMPA”) and the Interim Trade Agreement (“ITA”, and together with the EMPA, the “Free Trade Agreement”), taking a decisive step in the integration process between both blocs. In practical terms, this is a framework aimed at deepening trade in goods, services and investments, through market access rules, tariff reduction schedules and complementary trade disciplines.

For it to enter into force, the EMPA requires ratification by each of the EU Member States, whereas the ITA—being limited to the strictly trade-related component—requires approval by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU, and could be applied independently as a transitional stage until the EMPA enters into force, at which point the EMPA will replace it once it has been duly approved. Within MERCOSUR, each State must complete its internal procedures, and Argentina must approve both the ITA and the EMPA it through the National Congress.

Structure of the Free Trade Agreement.

The framework of the Free Trade Agreement is organized around three pillars: (i) a trade component, aimed at setting trade rules and consolidating a free trade area; (ii) a cooperation component, with joint programs focused on science, technology, education and the environment; and (iii) a political component, providing for institutional dialogue on democracy, human rights, sustainable development and global governance.

Key measures on foreign trade and customs.

1) Free trade area: the core purpose of the ITA is to move toward a free trade area, under which the parties undertake to eliminate or reduce tariffs and other trade barriers. As a result, goods originating in Argentina would access the EU market under preferential and reciprocal conditions.

2) Tariff liberalization and export duties: the Free Trade Agreement provides for a tariff liberalization scheme with two main modalities: (i) immediate elimination for numerous products relevant to Argentina’s export basket; and (ii) gradual reductions for other goods, with timeframes ranging from 4 to 10 years, depending on the product. High-quality beef would become tariff-free as from the Free Trade Agreement’s entry into force. In addition, it is highlighted that, as from the third year of the ITA’s term, Argentina is expected to stop applying export duties to most exports destined to the EU.

3) Tariff-rate quotas for sensitive products: for certain sensitive products, the Free Trade Agreement introduces a tariff-rate quota regime. Under this scheme, a specified volume is traded at a preferential tariff, while any excess is subject to the full tariff. Covered products include meats, rice, corn, honey, cheeses and milk powder, and reciprocal quotas are also provided for certain dairy products.

4) Bilateral safeguard: the Free Trade Agreement provides for bilateral safeguard mechanisms for a period of between 12 and 18 years in the event of increases in preferential imports that cause or threaten to cause serious injury to domestic production. Their application may not exceed two years, and provisional measures may not exceed 200 days.

The effective implementation of the Free Trade Agreement is subject to completion of the ratification processes by the States Parties, including the pending ratification by the Republic of Argentina.