EU and Mercosur: Choosing Fair Trade

Yesterday in Brussels, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, noted that the new agreement between the European Union and the South American trade bloc MERCOSUR sends a powerful signal to the entire world. According to her, the EU chooses fair trade over tariffs and partnership over isolation, prioritizes sustainable development and rejects exploitation. Von der Leyen emphasized that the European Union is seriously committed to diversifying supply chains in order to reduce dependence on individual sources.

Context

MERCOSUR – a South American trade bloc comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, which in 2023 signed a trade expansion agreement with the EU.