Overview
- The Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a favorable report after a brief hearing, clearing the implementing bill for consideration by the full chamber.
- Foreign Ministry official Fernando Brun defended the pact and projected Argentine exports to the EU could rise about 76% in five years and 122% in ten years under phased tariff cuts.
- Reporting indicates the Senate could take up the measure as early as Thursday, February 26, pending confirmation of the session schedule.
- The governing coalition and dialogue‑oriented opposition backed the agreement, while the kirchnerist bloc opposed it, seeking sector‑by‑sector impact studies and pointing to legal questions raised in Europe.
- The pact establishes progressive tariff elimination for many exports into a market of roughly 450 million consumers, and supporters such as Senator Patricia Bullrich tied the advance to a broader integration push that also includes a new U.S. trade facilitation and investment agreement.