Mercosur and EFTA countries sign free trade agreement

The Member States of Mercosur (the Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay, and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay) and the States of EFTA (Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway, and the Swiss Confederation) signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on September 16, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The MERCOSUR–EFTA FTA was signed, on behalf of Mercosur, by Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, and Worship, Gerardo Werthein; Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira; Uruguay’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mario Lubetkin; and Paraguay’s Vice-Minister of Economic Relations and Integration, Patricia Frutos. On behalf of EFTA, the signatories were Switzerland’s Vice President, Guy Parmelin; Iceland’s Minister of Culture, Innovation, and Higher Education, Logi Már Einarsson; Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Cecilie Myrseth; and Ambassador Frank Buechel on behalf of Liechtenstein.

The FTA will create a free trade area encompassing nearly 300 million people and a combined GDP of over US$4.3 trillion. Both sides will benefit from expanded market access for more than 97% of their exports, which will boost bilateral trade and deliver benefits to businesses and citizens of the signatory countries.

The FTA will create new business opportunities for economic actors in both MERCOSUR and EFTA countries, including the numerous small and medium-sized enterprises operating in each jurisdiction. The agreement will provide greater market access and improve customs rules and procedures. It will also foster predictability and legal certainty in trade between the parties.

Broad and comprehensive in scope, the MERCOSUR–EFTA FTA covers trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition, rules of origin, trade defense, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, a dispute settlement mechanism, as well as a chapter on trade and sustainable development, with a corresponding Memorandum of Understanding.

Negotiations began in June 2017 in Buenos Aires, and a total of 14 negotiation rounds were held until the agreement’s conclusion.

Since early 2025, MERCOSUR and the EFTA States have engaged in an intense negotiation process, building on the progress achieved up to August 2019, with the aim of reflecting relevant developments since then and adapting the agreement to address current challenges. This final stage included three in-person negotiation rounds in Buenos Aires, as well as numerous online meetings.

The States of MERCOSUR and EFTA share a commitment to ensure the timely ratification of the FTA and its entry into force as soon as possible.

Source: Agência Gov

Sharing is caring!