Deputies unanimously vote in favor of a European Union-Mercosur trade agreement in Asuncion, Paraguay, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Paraguay has ratified a free trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc, becoming the last member of the South American grouping to do so.
The Chamber of Deputies voted unanimously to adopt the agreement on March 17, thereby finalizing the country's ratification of a treaty that establishes the world's largest free trade zone.
Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay had already ratified the text in recent weeks.
The agreement was signed in mid-January in Asuncion, following 25 years of negotiations.
Together, the EU and Mercosur account for 30 percent of global GDP and more than 700 million consumers.
The treaty eliminates tariffs on more than 90 percent of bilateral trade.
The deal will favor European exports of cars, wine and cheese, while making it easier for South American beef, poultry, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans to enter Europe.
International business analyst Marcelo Elizondo told AFP "it is striking how quickly the process finally concluded after more than 25 years of negotiations."
The agreement represents "a change in the model and an opening that is unprecedented," Elizondo said, adding it will likely also "encourage access to financing and to European investment in Mercosur."
The treaty has been met with resistance in several European countries, led by France, due to the increase in competition Mercosur could pose for the agriculture and livestock sectors.
The European Union announced in February it will apply the trade agreement on a provisional basis while waiting for its Court of Justice to review the agreement's legality, a procedure expected to take up to a year and a half.
