A survey by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) indicates that the entry into force of the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union should significantly change the access of Brazilian products to the European market.
According to the entity, more than five thousand items exported by Brazil will have import tariffs zeroed in the European Union at the beginning of the treaty’s validity.
According to the CNI, 54.3% of the products included in the scope of the agreement will have immediate elimination of import taxes on the European side. The confederation’s assessment is that the measure creates a leap in the international insertion of Brazilian industry and significantly expands the country’s reach in preferential trade agreements.
Today, the agreements in which Brazil participates cover around 8% of global imports of goods. With the incorporation of the agreement with the European Union, this percentage tends to rise to 36%, considering that the European bloc accounted for approximately 28% of world trade in 2024, according to data cited by the entity.
In the opposite direction, the opening of the Brazilian market will occur more gradually. The CNI highlights that Brazil will have between 10 and 15 years to reduce tariffs on 44.1% of traded products, equivalent to around 4,400 items. For the confederation, the longer schedule gives predictability to the national industry and allows for productive and technological adaptations before full external competition.
Industry is the main axis of the commercial relationship between Brazil and the European Union. In 2024, industrial goods accounted for 46.3% of Brazilian exports destined for the bloc.
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On the import side, the concentration is even greater: 98.4% of products purchased from the European Union were manufactured, according to the CNI. Considering only industrial inputs, these items represented 56.6% of imports and 34.2% of exports in the year.
The numbers also highlight the weight of the European bloc in Brazilian foreign trade. In 2024, the European Union was the destination for US$48.2 billion in exports, equivalent to 14.3% of the total sold by Brazil abroad, remaining the country’s second main market. In the same period, imports from the bloc totaled US$47.2 billion, or 17.9% of the total acquired by Brazil.
Negotiations between Mercosur and the European Union began in 1999 and went through more than two decades of advances, impasses and technical and political revisions. The agreement provides for the reduction or elimination of tariffs on more than 90% of bilateral trade, with different deadlines for sectors considered sensitive.
The expectation, according to the CNI, is that the economic impacts will materialize gradually, as the treaty is ratified and its stages implemented.
