Paraguayan authorities are assessing the impact of the provisional application of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU), which was signed in Asunción in January 2026 after more than 25 years of negotiations.
Deputy César Cerini met with the Vice Minister of Economic Relations and Integration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Patricia Frutos Ruiz, to discuss details of the agreement's implementation.
It was reported that the European Union will liberalize 93% of its imports from Mercosur within 10 years, while the South American bloc will have 15 years to remove tariffs on 90% of its imports from the EU.
The definitive ratification of the agreement's political component, known as the Association Agreement, is still pending and requires approval from the European Parliament.
The text of the agreement was sent for review to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) following objections from some countries, including Poland.
For Paraguay, this instrument represents a concrete tool to boost economic growth, expand exports, strengthen the productive sector, and attract strategic investments that will contribute to national development.
The agreement establishes a free trade zone encompassing more than 700 million people, with the progressive elimination of tariffs for agricultural and industrial products, new rules of origin, customs facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, as well as provisions on services, investments, and government procurement.