EU-Mercosur: the agreement is now being applied provisionally

After more than 25 years of negotiations, the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur has gone from being a distant opportunity to an operational reality. Since May 1, 2026, the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement has been applied provisionally, while the full ratification process continues and some legal and political issues remain open.

For Spanish companies, the message is clear: it's not just about waiting for final ratification, but about starting to analyze products, tariff codes, rules of origin, documentation, prices and potential trading partners in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay today.

The headline is that the provisional application has already begun. This allows certain tariff reductions and new trade rules to be activated from day one, although full ratification of the agreement and some legal remedies are still pending.

Mercosur will progressively eliminate tariffs for the vast majority of European exports. The Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business raises the figure to 93% of EU exports. However, each product has its own liberalization schedule, so you must carry out the analysis tariff code by tariff code.

Spain is in a favorable position due to its significant export volume, its commercial experience in Latin America, and the fact that many of its sectors complement Mercosur’s demand. The agreement could particularly benefit the automotive and components, capital goods, machinery, chemical, pharmaceutical, textile, footwear, wine, olive oil, cheese, pork, fruit and vegetables sectors.

However, the provisional entry into force does not mean that all tariffs are disappearing all at once. In the agri-food sector, for example, there are phase-out schedules, quotas and safeguards. Therefore, the competitive advantage here will not only be in selling earlier, but in knowing exactly when the margin for each product improves and in which country it will be most profitable to start.

One of the least discussed parts of the agreement is the opening up of services and public procurement. For Spanish companies in engineering, technology, consulting, transport, telecommunications, financial services or industrial solutions, Mercosur should not be analyzed solely as a destination for goods, but also as a market for projects, technical services and tenders.

Brazil is the largest and most sophisticated market, but also the most complex. Argentina offers good opportunities in certain industrial and agri-food sectors. Uruguay and Paraguay can function as more manageable entry markets for companies that want to start a regional strategy with a lower operational complexity.

The provisional application does not remove uncertainty. Poland has taken the agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union and is requesting that its application be suspended while the matter is resolved. Furthermore, France, Poland, and part of the European agricultural sector maintain strong opposition due to the risk of competition with products subject to different production standards.

The agricultural debate will continue to be key. The EU insists that trade liberalization will coexist with health and environmental controls and safeguards for sensitive products. In fact, in May 2026, it was announced that the European Union had decided to remove Brazil from the list of countries authorized to export certain animal products, effective September 2026, due to requirements regarding the use of antimicrobials. This point shows that the agreement does not replace European controls, but it does add political and regulatory complexity.

• Correctly identify the tariff code for each product.
• Check the applicable rule of origin and whether the product can benefit from preferential treatment.
• Check if the company needs to be registered in the REX system to issue declarations of origin.
• Update invoices, declarations of origin, and commercial documentation.
• Review current contracts, prices, Incoterms and delivery conditions.
• Analyze whether there is merchandise in transit or in storage that could benefit from this new framework.
• Prioritize countries, for example: Brazil and Argentina due to their size, Uruguay and Paraguay due to accessibility or specific niches.
  
• Validate sanitary, technical, labeling, registration and approval requirements.
• Find distributors, importers or partners before your competitors establish themselves.
  
• Prepare a sales strategy with active follow-up, not just sending catalogs.

The EU-Mercosur agreement is one of the biggest trade opportunities for Spanish companies in recent times, but it should not be approached as a simple tariff reduction. The real opportunity lies in preparing beforehand: understanding the timeline for each product, adapting documentation, reviewing prices, and building a country-by-country entry strategy.

For many SMEs, the advantage will not be arriving when the market is already saturated, but starting now with information, focus and specialized support. This market of 700 million consumers is now closer, but the key will be turning the agreement into real sales.

Does your company want to know if its products can benefit from the EU-Mercosur agreement? At OFTEX we analyze markets, tariff codes, opportunities by country and potential B2B clients to turn market access into an actionable export strategy.

• European Commission - EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
• DG Trade - Provisional application of the EU-Mercosur agreement.
• Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business - EU-Mercosur Agreement.
• ICEX - EU-Mercosur Agreement.
• Euronews - Poland takes Mercosur fight to EU court.
• Reuters - EU move on Brazilian animal product exports.

NOTE: [this document / this publication] is not intended as advice on how to optimize your internationalization decisions. The specific circumstances of each case make it crucial that you make your decisions in the most reasoned way possible. The information presented here may become outdated. References to third-party pages were made on a specific date; the content may have been modified and quickly become outdated due to updates in the EU-Mercosur agreement and the result of the submitted appeals.