EU-Mercosur trade pact opens Brazil market for Italian SMEs

The EU‑Mercosur free‑trade agreement entered provisional application on 1 May 2026, cutting tariffs on food, machinery, clothing, automotive and other products. The deal grants Italian small and medium‑size enterprises access to the bloc's 215 million‑consumer market, notably Brazil, the largest economy in Mercosur.

Italy now has more than 1,100 companies operating in Brazil, with 172 new firms launched in the past two years. A joint ICE and Confartigianato webinar on 3 July 2026 will outline the agreement’s economic impact, customs simplifications and financial support tools for Italian exporters. Projections from ICE estimate that Italian exports to Mercosur could rise by about $3.5 billion by 2036, with sectoral gains in metals, machinery, vehicles and agro‑food, while some analysts foresee total trade potentially reaching $10 billion.