LatinNews Daily - 18 March 2026

*Paraguay’s lower chamber of congress has ratified the free trade agreement signed in January by the European Union (EU) and Mercosur regional trade bloc. It follows Paraguay’s senate’s approval on 4 March of the deal which will eliminate tariffs on 91% of European goods within 15 years, while the EU will eliminate tariffs on 95% of goods exported by Mercosur within 12 years. Paraguay is the final Mercosur member to ratify the deal, with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay having completed their respective national ratification processes for it in recent weeks. Also yesterday Brazil’s national congress promulgated the Mercosur deal with the EU, after its senate approved it on 4 March, following its ratification by the lower chamber last month. On 27 February the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the agreement’s application although this is only provisional, pending a ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in response to a request from the European Parliament in January over its legality, which could hold up the ratification process for two years.

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