EU and Mercosur clinch sweeping free-trade pact amid shifting world trade
After more than 25 years of talks, the European Union and Mercosur signed a landmark free-trade agreement in Asunción, aiming to eliminate over 90% of tariffs and create one of the world’s largest tariff-free zones for about 700 million consumers, though ratification by the European Parliament and farm-lobby objections remain potential hurdles amid ongoing geopolitical competition with the U.S. and China.