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The deal between the 27-nation European Union and Mercosur bloc members Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay creates one of the world’s largest free trade areas after 25 years of tricky negotiations<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe deal between the 27-nation European Union and Mercosur bloc members Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay creates one of the world’s largest free trade areas after 25 years of tricky negotiations<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ASUNCION, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union and Mercosur officially signed one of the world\u2019s largest free-trade agreements on Saturday, clinching a deal that has been in the works for more than two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Ant\u00f3nio Costa inked the pact in Asunci\u00f3n, Paraguay, a week after the EU blessed the deal with the South American bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agreement, which will create an integrated market of 780 million consumers, will strengthen Europe\u2019s foothold in a resource-rich region that\u2019s being increasingly contested by the US and China. Von der Leyen and leaders like Brazil\u2019s Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva have also touted it as a way to signal independence from the two superpowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis moment is about connecting continents,\u201d von der Leyen said at the signing. \u201cIt reflects a clear and deliberate choice: We choose fair trade over tariffs; we choose a productive long-term partnership over isolation; and, above all, we intend to deliver real and tangible benefits to our people and our businesses.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The signing comes amid the backdrop of renewed US interest in South America. US President Donald Trump\u2019s administration recently issued a national security document that re-prioritised the region for US policy moves. Two weeks ago, the US arrested Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and brought him to New York to face criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gradual erasure of tariffs on farm goods is set to benefit South America\u2019s agricultural powerhouses, while the removal of levies on cars, machinery and other products is positive for European industry. The deal would boost the Mercosur bloc economy by as much as 0.7 percent\u00a0by 2040, and Europe\u2019s by 0.1 percent after 15 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are talking about the largest agreement between two blocs \u2013\u00a0it puts together economies that account for US$22 trillion,\u201d Tatiana Prazeres, Brazil\u2019s foreign trade secretary, said in public remarks earlier this week. \u201cThat will help the region to be better integrated to the global economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Argentina President Javier Milei, Uruguay\u2019s Yamand\u00fa Orsi and Paraguay\u2019s Santiago Pe\u00f1a attended the signing ceremony. Lula, who\u2019s been a part of the trade talks since his first presidency began in 2003, didn\u2019t travel to Paraguay but met with von der Leyen in Rio de Janeiro on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agreement nearly fell apart in December due to opposition from large farming nations like France and Italy. But safeguard measures offered to European farmers helped sway Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leaving France\u2019s Emmanuel Macron without sufficient backing to block a deal, which, after Saturday\u2019s signing, still requires approval by the European Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The EU\u2019s share of Mercosur trade has fallen to 14 percent\u00a0from 23 percent\u00a0in 2001. But the accord will expand its trade network in Latin America to 97 percent\u00a0of the region\u2019s economy, far greater than 44 percent\u00a0for the US and 14 percent\u00a0for China, according to Banco Santander SA.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The pact could help Europe escape its souring dynamics with the United States and China after it spent much of 2025 locked in trade battles with both. It may also prove to South America that Europe can offer a credible economic alternative to the two superpowers \u2013 especially as it seeks to lure investments into industry and to develop metal and mineral reserves that are key to Europe\u2019s green and digital transition plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Europe and Brazil are in talks for a separate critical-metals agreement, von der Leyen said in Rio on Friday. That deal would \u201cframe our cooperation on joint-investment projects in lithium, nickel and rare earths,\u201d she said, promoting strategic independence \u201cin a world where minerals tend to become an instrument of coercion.\u201d — NNN-AGENCIES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The deal between the 27-nation European Union and Mercosur bloc members Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay creates one of the world’s largest free trade areas after 25 years of tricky negotiations ASUNCION, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The European Union and Mercosur officially signed one of the world\u2019s largest free-trade agreements on Saturday, clinching a deal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":322373,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[208,215,209],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322372"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=322372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":322374,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322372\/revisions\/322374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/322373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=322372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=322372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/namnewsnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=322372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}