Both Argentina and Uruguay celebrated this week their modest but significant first exports within the framework of the new free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU)which came into force provisionally on May 1 and awaits a substantive ruling from European Justice.
The Argentines certified a first shipment to Europe of 22 tons of honey originating in Concordia, Entre Ríos, and certified by SENASA, with zero tariff. And the Uruguayan government celebrated on Wednesday the sending of 28 tons of processed hake destined for Lithuania, also with zero tariff. Many more businesses are expected in the coming months.
After 25 years of advances and setbacks in the negotiations, the four founding members of Mercosur and the 27 countries of the EU signed the historic agreement in Asunción, which unites a market of 700 million potential consumers and together represents the 20% of world GDP.
Although the process slowed down after MEPs referred the agreement to the European Court of Justice for a legal review, The provisional base will allow the exchange of a minority of products with zero tariffwhich is key to giving it dynamism while analyzing the underlying issue.
“A logic of openness guides our relationship today with Argentina and with the region,” the European Union ambassador in this country Erik Høeg began by saying, on Thursday during the celebrations for Europe Day (actually May 9), and before 800 guests. “The agreement opens markets, promotes investments and is already benefiting our consumers and our companies this week,” he remarked in reference to the first deals within a context even in which Mercosur – due to its political differences – quotas have not yet been distributed.
Forward agreements
However, there is another positive phenomenon that is noted. The momentum that Mercosur and the EU had in recent months activated a series of negotiations with other regions and countries that also want to sign agreements with the bloc, not without some obstacles.
To begin with, the members of the bloc known as EFTA (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein), which had closed their agreement with Mercosur, are now asking that the bloc’s Congresses ratify them. AND Negotiations with Japan and Canada acceleratednot without problems.
There are two situations to highlight among them. On the one hand, the government of Sanae Takaichi is preparing to begin commercial negotiations with the bloc in search of an economic association to diversify markets and secure strategic supply chainsin the context of the policy of tariff increases of Donald Trump and also of the China’s restrictions on its rare earth exports. Furthermore, China and Japan are going through a time of enormous political tensions that have an impact on their trade relations.
The supply of critical mineralsessential for industries such as the automotive industry and the manufacturing of precision instruments, mobilized the interest of regions around the world in Argentina and other countries rich in rare earths – the so-called critical minerals, such as lithium -, where China also has a huge presence.
Japan and Mercosur members held two meetings this year to move towards an agreement. From here they always think about selling them food, such as beef, chicken and soybeans, to the Japanese market.
Not everything is understanding. Within the ruling Japanese Liberal Democratic Party there is reluctance in sectors linked to the agricultural industry because, as happened with the EU, They fear that the entry of cheaper South American products, especially beef, will severely affect local producers.
Conversations and rejections in Canada
The telephone conversation that Javier Milei had a few days ago with the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, should also be read in that sense. Although, two years after assuming power, the libertarian sees Canadians as a potential strategic partner in mining, energy and trade, There are already negotiations between Ottawa and Mercosur to finalize an FTA.
In the case of Canada, local producers also reacted, as those in the United States did at the time due to the additional meat quotas that Donald Trump allowed Javier Milei this year.
In recent days, and in the context of negotiations with Ottawa, the Canadian Cattle Association and the National Feedlot Association came out to express their distrust of Brazil and Argentina, two of the world’s largest exporters of beef. In the Brazilian case, furthermore, producers and exporters remain attentive to the recent restrictions and quotas imposed in the strategic Chinese market.
“Canada is already one of the most exposed beef markets in the world,” said Tyler Fulton, president of the Canadian Livestock Association. He pointed out that 30% of the country’s domestic beef consumption comes from importsso rural entities They fear for Mercosur’s health and food safety standards.
Meanwhile, on September 16, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro, the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA or EFTA) and Mercosur signed the free trade agreement which entered the process of parliamentary ratification in each Member State, with Switzerland and Norway advancing their internal processes. The Mercosur agreement with the EU was supposed to speed up the EFTA agreement and vice versa, but that did not happen.
It is eliminates tariffs for more than 97% of reciprocal exports, in industrial and fishing productswith a scope that should reach trade in goods, with chapters on services, investments, public purchases, intellectual property and health measures.
Los ambassadors from both regions -in Argentina the most active are the Norwegian Halvor Sætre and the Swiss Andrea Semadeni-, They now pilgrimage through the respective congresses to accelerate an agreement to lower tariffs and have enormous investment potential, not only for energy suppliers and the shipping sector, but also for SMEs.