EU-Mercosur agreement: what it changes for exporters since 1 May 2026

Since 1 May 2026, the interim trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur has applied provisionally with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. These four countries are removing, immediately or in stages, their customs duties on 91% of European exports, saving more than €4 billion a year according to the Commission. To benefit, exporters must prove the European origin of their products and find an importer able to claim the preference on arrival.

What exactly has applied since 1 May 2026?

Two texts coexist. The EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement, concluded on 6 December 2024 and signed on 17 January 2026, must be ratified by the Member States and national parliaments. In the meantime, its trade pillar, which falls within the Union's exclusive competence, has been carried over into an interim agreement applied provisionally (French customs, 6 February 2026). On 21 January 2026, the European Parliament asked the Court of Justice of the EU for an opinion; France opposed the agreement, calling for stronger safeguards for agriculture (same source).

Since 1 May, the interim agreement has applied with the four founding members of Mercosur (Access2Markets, 30 April 2026). Bolivia, which has joined Mercosur, is not a party to the agreement (French customs). On the same day, Mercosur began protecting 344 European geographical indications, names linked to a specific place of origin such as Comté (European Commission, 30 April 2026; European Commission, 28 June 2019).

Which customs duties are disappearing, and how fast?

Mercosur is removing its duties on 91% of European exports, which represents more than €4 billion in duties saved each year for EU companies (European Commission, 30 April 2026). The pace varies: immediate or gradual elimination, over 1 to 18 years depending on the product (French customs, 6 February 2026). The Commission states that the agreement immediately removes or sharply reduces duties on key products such as cars and medicines, and from 1 May applies a first reduction to most agri-food products, including wines, spirits and olive oil (European Commission, 30 April 2026).

Some dairy products are subject to tariff-rate quotas, that is, annual volumes admitted at a reduced or zero rate, beyond which the normal duty applies.

Table sources: 2026 rates from the European Commission for cars, machinery, medicines, wines, chocolate, olive oil and cheeses; 2019 press release for car parts, chemicals and spirits; Commission agricultural factsheet for the dairy quotas.

Which French sectors have the most to gain?

Mercosur carries little weight in French trade: €5.3 billion of exports in 2025, just under 1% of the total, for a surplus of €0.9 billion. Brazil receives 79% of these exports, Argentina 15%, and Uruguay and Paraguay 6% together (French customs, 6 February 2026).

The quickest gains concern sectors that are already present and were paying high duties. The main French export categories in 2025 were aerospace (€0.9 billion), chemicals (€0.8 billion), pharmaceuticals (€0.6 billion), machinery (€0.6 billion), computer, electronic and optical products (€0.4 billion) and automotive (€0.4 billion), mainly equipment, sold mostly to Brazil, with less than a third going to Argentina and nearly 20% to Uruguay (same source). Until now these products paid duties of up to 14% for medicines, 18% for chemicals and car parts, and 20% for machinery.

Agri-food starts from a lower base, but the Commission expects European agri-food exports to Mercosur to rise by nearly 50% (European Commission). Wines, spirits, chocolate and cheeses with a geographical indication combine lower duties with protection of their name. On the European side, exports to Mercosur reached €54.9 billion in 2025 (French customs).

Competition is not standing still: in August 2026, Chinese exports to Latin America rose by 17.5% year on year (BNN Bloomberg, 8 September 2026). The tariff preference narrows the price gap; it does not close it.

How do you prove origin to obtain the preference?

The rules of origin determine whether a product "originates" in the EU or Mercosur, either because it is wholly obtained there or because it has been sufficiently processed there under the product-specific rules of Chapter 3 and its annexes (French customs, 28 April 2026). Only originating products benefit from the preferential duty.

On the European side, proof relies on self-certification. The preference is claimed by means of a statement on origin made out by an exporter registered in the REX system, the EU's registered exporter system, or, without registration, for a consignment whose originating products do not exceed €6,000 (Revenue, 27 April 2026). The exporter must be able to produce the supporting evidence of origin at any time.

Several technical rules matter in the calculation: a tolerance of 10% of the ex-works price for non-originating materials, excluding textiles in Chapters 50 to 63; bilateral cumulation between the EU and Mercosur; and a statement on origin valid for twelve months (Access2Markets). In the Mercosur-to-EU direction, Argentine, Brazilian and Uruguayan exporters state their CUIT, CNPJ or RUT, and Paraguay uses certificates of origin (Access2Markets, 30 April 2026).

French customs publishes a ten-step guide, a set of FAQs and a notice to operators. Where a product-specific rule is in doubt, a binding origin information (BOI) decision provides a written position from the administration (French customs, 28 April 2026).

Which schedules and uncertainties should be monitored?

Three points deserve regular monitoring. First, the tariff schedule: the rate on a line changes from one year to the next, and a multi-year price offer must take this into account. Second, the legal framework: the request for an opinion from the Court of Justice and the ratification of the partnership agreement remain open. Third, the quotas: for cheeses or milk powder, the preferential volume is capped each year.

How do you find importers in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay?

The distribution of trade flows sets the order of priority: Brazil first, Argentina next, Uruguay and Paraguay for niches or as regional platforms. The search benefits from following three levels of evidence.

1. A compatible company: an importer or distributor that already sells the product category, whose existence can be checked in the national register using its tax identification number (CNPJ in Brazil, CUIT in Argentina, RUT in Uruguay).
2. A dated public signal: a new product registration, the opening of sales outlets, recent participation in a trade fair or an announced investment, showing a current need.
3. A confirmed need: a published tender or request for quotation. The agreement also includes a public procurement chapter, which opens new opportunities for European companies (European Commission, 28 June 2019).

Before making any offer, four questions should be put to the importer. Does it know how to claim the preference on import, without which the duty saving is lost? Does it handle the regulatory registrations specific to the category? Is it asking for exclusivity, and over which territory? How will the tariff gain be shared between selling price, margin and promotion? The answers distinguish a partner ready to make use of the agreement from a mere reseller.