Brazilian President Lula da Silva promulgated the Free Trade Agreement between Mercosur and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), today informed the Palácio do Planalto.
© Lusa
25/09/2026
by
Lusa
O agreement establishes commitments to expand trade and investment flows between the countries of the two blocs and will enter into force for Brazil, externally.
Among the objectives are the strengthening of trade in goods, investments and services, the creation of an area of free trade, the reduction of technical barriers and sanitary and phytosanitary measures considered unnecessary and the expansion of access to government procurement markets.
The EFTA brings together Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, while the Mercosur is formed by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
For Brazil, “the treaty expands the possibilities for entry of national products into the markets of the EFTA countries and creates conditions for increasing trade and investment flows”, also providing for easier customs procedures, greater transparency and reduction of barriers.
The Agreement also provides for protection of intellectual property rights, recognition of geographical indications and provisions on sustainable development, with commitments related to the protection of the environment, biodiversity and human rights.
According to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, the commercial opening may represent new opportunities for Brazilian agricultural products “who today face higher tariffs and will count, according to the product and the country, with reduction or elimination of tariffs, quotas or specific agricultural regimes”.
The ministry points, for example, to roasted coffee, which is currently subject to 10% tariffs in Iceland and 7% in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Started in 2017, negotiations for the Mercosur and EFTA Agreement were concluded in 2025, with the signing of the signatory countries in Rio de Janeiro on 16 September last year.
In Brazil, the agreement was approved by the National Congress in June 2026 and, according to a statement from the Palácio do Planalto (Brazilian Presidency), with the promulgation by the President, “the formalities necessary for the internalization of the international act in the Brazilian legal system” are completed.