MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mercosur-EFTA FTA announced in Buenos Aires

Meetings of Foreign and Economy Ministers preceded the Mercosur Summit, bringing leaders together on Thursday

The Southern Common Market's (Mercosur) Summit in Buenos Aires kicked off Wednesday with the announcement by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) finalized with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA - Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland). The documents are to be signed in the coming months.

This FTA will create a vast free-trade zone of nearly 300 million people with a combined GDP exceeding US$4.3 trillion. Both blocs anticipate significant benefits, including improved market access for over 97% of their exports, leading to increased bilateral trade and advantages for businesses and individuals.

The comprehensive agreement covers a wide range of areas, including trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition, rules of origin, trade defense, and sustainable development. Negotiations began in 2017 and were relaunched in April 2024.

Last year, Mercosur's exports to EFTA were valued at US$3.373 billion, while imports totaled US$3.824 billion, with Switzerland being a major trading partner. The new agreement is expected to simplify import/export procedures, reduce tariffs, and strengthen economic ties.

”The signatory states of Mercosur (the Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay, and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay) and the EFTA states (Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway, and the Swiss Confederation) announced at the Mercosur summit (Buenos Aires, July 2 and 3, 2025) the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement,” explained a joint statement from both blocs.

The summit began on Wednesday with a meeting of economy ministers and Central Bank presidents of member and associate countries and continued with a meeting of the Common Market Council (CMC), the political decision-making body of the South American bloc, composed of their respective foreign ministers.

“Since early 2025, Mercosur and the EFTA states have been engaged in an intense negotiation process based on the results achieved through August 2019, with the goal of reflecting the relevant progress made since then and making the agreement even more relevant to current challenges,” it was also explained.

“In light of the progress achieved, Mercosur and the EFTA States share the commitment to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Free Trade Agreement is signed in the coming months of 2025,” the declaration further noted.