Swiss-Norway group and South America’s Mercosur agree on free-trade deal

The European Free Trade Association of Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland concluded negotiations on a free-trade agreement with South America’s Mercosur countries in a push for more transatlantic commerce.

The FTA will “remove or reduce duties on more than 95 percent of goods currently exported to Mercosur by EFTA companies” over a period of 15 years, EFTA said in a statement Wednesday. It will enter into force three months after all member countries have ratified the pact.

Once that is the case, “EFTA states will abolish all customs duties on imports of industrial products, including fish and other marine products, originating in Mercosur,” the European group said. “Mercosur will gradually eliminate or reduce customs duties on most industrial products, including fish and other marine products, originating in one of the EFTA states.”

“This agreement is a total priority for EFTA countries and we have now intensified negotiations,” said Helene Budliger, Switzerland’s top trade diplomat. Speaking during a press conference in Buenos Aires, she added that it’s hard to say when the agreement will go into effect.

Brazil expects to ratify the pact during its presidency over Mercosur, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said, adding that the South American bloc also hopes to ratify an European Union-Mercosur treaty in the second half of the year. Argentina will pass on the pro-tempore presidency to Brazil Thursday, when the heads of state are set to meet. 

The deal with Mercosur opens up a market of 270 million consumers to the European nations. It follows an EFTA free-trade agreement with India last year and two smaller accords with Thailand and Malaysia more recently as the group extends its trade ties.

Negotiations with the Mercosur group had been ongoing since 2017 but faced a setback in 2019 over environmental disagreements. 

The EU and Mercosur clinched a long-sought trade deal late last year over the vehement objections of France, which has pledged to lead a charge to obstruct its ratification.