Mercosur countries agree to expand foreign tariff exemptions

Member countries of South America’s leading trade bloc, Mercosur, have reached an agreement to broaden exemptions to common external tariffs, Argentina’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced on Wednesday.

Under the new deal, countries will be allowed to add up to 50 additional tariff exemptions to the existing regimes.

Currently, Brazil and Argentina benefit from around 100 exemptions each, while Uruguay and Paraguay have close to 400.

The agreement was notably driven by Buenos Aires, with Argentina pushing for the move to facilitate a potential trade deal with the United States.

Experts say that expanding these exemptions will enable Mercosur to adopt a more flexible trade policy and better protect the individual economic interests of its member states.

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