EFTA and MERCOSUR conclude negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement

The Signatory State Parties of MERCOSUR (the Republic of Argentina, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay) and the EFTA States (Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Kingdom of Norway and the Swiss Confederation) have announced, at the MERCOSUR Summit Meeting (Buenos Aires, 2 and 3 July 2025), the conclusion of the negotiations of a Free Trade Agreement. 

The MERCOSUR - EFTA Free Trade Agreement will create a free-trade zone of almost 300 million people and a combined GDP of more than US$ 4.3 trillion. Both sides will benefit from improved market access for more than 97% of their exports, which will increase bilateral trade and translate into benefits for businesses and individuals. 

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, MERCOSUR and the 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. 

In light of the progress achieved, MERCOSUR and the 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.