EU–Mercosur Trade Deal Takes Provisional Effect as Brazil Streamlines Regional Commerce

Overview

• The EU–Mercosur accord, applied on a provisional basis in early May, removed import taxes on more than 80% of Brazilian sales to Europe, with over 5,000 products at zero tariff, industry estimates say.
• The European Parliament has asked the EU Court of Justice to review the deal’s legality, a process that could take up to two years, yet EU lawmakers voiced confidence a parliamentary vote will approve it soon.
• Brazil’s government, which on Friday, May 8, promulgated a Mercosur trade‑facilitation pact, set rules for electronic documents, risk‑based customs checks and a single trade window to cut border delays and costs.
• Studies identify at least 500 new export opportunities worth about US$43.9 billion, while tariff quotas touch only a small share of trade and sectors like autos transition over as long as 15 years.
• New EU anti‑deforestation rules, which require geolocation data and due diligence across supply chains, could curb access for non‑compliant farm goods and blunt some tariff gains for smaller producers.