Brazil begins importing cheese at lower tariff after Mercosur-EU deal

Brazil has begun importing cheese at reduced tariff rates following the entry into force of the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union on May 1. Brazil recorded its first import operations for chocolate and tomatoes under the agreement’s rules. The requests are part of the first trade licenses approved by the ministry under the tariff-rate quotas established in the treaty.

According to MDIC, the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex) has already authorized six import licenses for European products and eight export licenses for Brazilian goods since the agreement took effect.

European products

Imported products include cheese, chocolate and tomatoes from the European Union. For cheese, the agreement has already delivered an immediate tariff reduction, lowering the rate from 28% to 25.2% under the negotiated preference.

For chocolate and tomatoes, tariff reductions will take place gradually starting in 2027. Until then, the tariffs currently applied to trade between the two blocs remain in effect.

The operations are subject to specific licensing and certification rules through the Siscomex Single Foreign Trade Portal, the system used to monitor Brazil’s foreign trade.

The following analysis outlines the leading containerized imports from the European Union during the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, sourced from Datamar’s DataLiner platform:

EU Imports | Q1 2026 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Expanded trade

The government says most trade between Mercosur and the European Union already operates without quantitative restrictions and with tariffs either reduced or eliminated.

According to MDIC, more than 5,000 tariff lines — the rates applied to each numerical product code — now have zero tariffs for exports to the European Union. In Mercosur, more than 1,000 tariff lines are operating tariff-free for European products.

Tariff-rate quotas account for a small share of bilateral trade, equivalent to about 4% of Brazilian exports and 0.3% of imports.

Operating system

The operations are being carried out through the Siscomex Single Foreign Trade Portal, which centralizes license and certification requests for importing and exporting companies.

According to the government, all regulations needed to implement the quotas were completed before the agreement entered into force, ensuring the system has been fully operational since the treaty’s first day in effect.

Source: Agência Brasil

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