Global Daily Tax News, EFTA, MERCOSUR Seal New Free Trade Deal, (Sep 19, 2025)

The MERCOSUR and EFTA trade blocs signed a free trade agreement on September 16, 2025.

MERCOSUR's member states are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, while the European Free Trade Association's member states are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

The agreement will reportedly reduce or eliminate tariffs on more than 97 percent of exports.

A joint statement released by the two blocs said: "The FTA will create new business opportunities for economic operators in the MERCOSUR and EFTA states, including for the high number of small and medium-sized enterprises present in each jurisdiction. It provides for improved market access and modernized regulations on custom clearance. Economic operators in the MERCOSUR and EFTA States will benefit from greater predictability and legal certainty in trade between their member countries."

A comprehensive and broad-based free trade agreement, the MERCOSUR FTA will cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition, rules of origin, trade defence, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and legal and horizontal issues including dispute settlement.

The agreement must now be ratified by the member states to enable the agreement to enter into force.