Before the agreement
Over the 25 years of negotiation, European companies exporting to Mercosur faced high tariffs depending on the product: up to 35% on cars, 14 to 20% on machinery and equipment, up to 35% on wine and certain beverages, 31.5% on olive oil and 20% on chocolate.
Access to Mercosur’s public procurement markets also remained closed or very limited for European companies, notably in Brazil’s federal public market, estimated at more than €8 billion a year.
Now, since 1 May 2026
Only the trade part of the agreement (the interim agreement, iTA) applies at this stage, on a provisional basis. The political and cooperation part (EMPA) still requires ratification by member states and is not yet in force.
On the trade side, the first cuts are already here: tariffs on electric and hybrid vehicles have dropped from 35% to 25%, and those on combustion vehicles from 35% to 17.5%. The agri-food sector and access to certain public markets are also entering their first phase of application.
Eventually
The rest of the tariff phase-out is spread over several years depending on the product: up to 10 years for 90% of car-parts exports, and a comparable path for 93% of machinery exports.
According to the European Commission, the full agreement could represent, by 2040, an effect on EU GDP of up to €77.6 billion, on top of more than €4 billion in annual tariff savings already estimated for European companies.
The table at a glance
The figures below are those cited by official sources for the most commonly discussed products and sectors. They don’t cover every tariff line: each product keeps its own rules and timeline.
| Sector | Before the agreement | Now (since 01.05.2026) | Eventually |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electric and hybrid vehicles | 35% | 25% | Progressive phase-out over 10 years |
| Combustion vehicles | 35% | 17.5% | Progressive phase-out over 10 years |
| Machinery and equipment | 14–20% | First reductions | 93% of exports covered by a progressive phase-out |
| Wine and spirits | Up to 35% | Provisional application under way | Progressive removal |
| Olive oil | Up to 31.5% | Provisional application under way | Progressive removal |
| Chocolate | Up to 20% | Provisional application under way | Progressive removal |
| Beef, Mercosur to EU | Very limited access | Quota of 99,000 t at 7.5% | Quota maintained, €6.3bn safeguard fund planned |
| Federal public procurement | Closed or very limited access | Opening under way (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay) | Wider access depending on federal and sub-central levels |
What to remember
The agreement isn’t a single switch: part of it already applies, another part remains conditional on ratification, and most of the tariff schedule stretches over several years. For a company, the useful question isn’t just ‘what’s changing?’ but ‘when, and for which product exactly?’