Overview
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the commercial terms will take effect provisionally on May 1 following South American ratifications.
- Argentina’s Senate passed the pact 69–3, President Javier Milei promptly promulgated it, and the government notified depositaries to request provisional application, as Uruguay ratified first with 91 of 93 deputies backing the deal.
- The commercial pillar would remove EU tariffs on roughly 92% of Mercosur exports and grant quotas or preferences for additional products, with phased schedules and safeguards for sensitive sectors such as meats and autos.
- The European Parliament has referred the agreement to the Court of Justice for an opinion, a process expected to take many months, and some member states, notably France, have criticized the Commission’s provisional route.
- Official projections cited by Argentina estimate exports to the EU could rise about 76% in five years and up to 122% in ten, led by agro‑industry, energy and mining, though access depends on meeting EU sanitary and regulatory standards and Brazil and Paraguay still need to ratify.