Mercosur leaders meet in Asunción to decide EU export quota split

At the end of June, the heads of state of Mercosur will gather in Asunción, Paraguay, where the bloc’s six‑month presidency passes from Paraguay to Uruguay. The summit will focus on how the export quotas granted under the provisional Mercosur‑EU trade agreement, which took effect on 1 May, are to be divided among the four founding members.

The most sensitive issue is the share of the beef quota – about 99 000 tonnes – but negotiations also cover poultry, sugar, honey and rice. Uruguay and Argentina favour a distribution based on each country’s average exports to the EU, Brazil proposes allocation according to global trade shares, while Paraguay argues for an equal 25 % slice for each member, citing the need to avoid a “law of the jungle”, as deputy trade minister Alberto Sborovsky put it.

Argentina has already exhausted its preferential quotas for honey, eggs and rice, and Brazil has sharply increased poultry shipments to Europe. A preliminary deal on the beef quota among Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay exists but still requires formal approval by Mercosur bodies. Uruguay, which will assume the presidency in the second half of the year, aims to settle the quota division by the end of September.

The summit’s agenda also includes the structural convergence fund, progress on free‑trade agreements with Canada and Japan, the bloc’s stance on the political crisis in Bolivia and possible enlargement. Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula, who recently praised the Mercosur‑EU deal signed in Asunción, is steering the country toward greater trade openness, with talks underway with EFTA members, Canada, Japan and other Asian economies.