MERCOSUR-EFTA pact to unlock 97% export market access

The MERCOSUR - EFTA Free Trade Agreement will create a free-trade zone of almost 300 million people and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than $4.3 trillion.

Both sides will benefit from improved market access for more than 97 per cent of their exports, which will increase bilateral trade and translate into benefits for businesses and individuals, the EFTA said in a press release.

The FTA will create new business opportunities for economic operators in the MERCOSUR and EFTA States, including for the high number of small and medium-sized enterprises present in each jurisdiction. It provides for improved market access and modernised regulations for custom clearance and cumulation of origin.

Economic operators in the MERCOSUR and EFTA States will benefit from greater predictability and legal certainty in trade between their member countries.

As a comprehensive and broad-based Free Trade Agreement, the MERCOSUR - EFTA Agreement will cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property rights, government procurement, competition, rules of origin, trade defence, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and legal and horizontal issues including dispute settlement, and a chapter on trade and sustainable development with its corresponding Record of Understanding.

Negotiations towards the comprehensive Free Trade Agreement were preceded by an exploratory dialogue that was initiated in March 2015. Negotiations were launched with a first round in June 2017 in Buenos Aires. A total of 14 rounds of negotiations were held.

Since the beginning of 2025, the MERCOSUR and EFTA States engaged in an intense process of negotiations, building on the progress made up to August 2019 and aiming at reflecting relevant developments since then as well as to make the agreement even more adapted to address current challenges. This final stage included three in-person rounds of negotiations in Buenos Aires, in addition to numerous online meetings, added the release.

In light of the progress achieved, the MERCOSUR and EFTA States share the commitment to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Free Trade Agreement is signed in the coming months of 2025.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (SG)