The provisional trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, due to take effect on May 1, opens room for a gradual expansion of agribusiness exports, with the first benefits concentrated in higher value-added agroindustrial goods such as soybean oil. According to calculations by Insper Agro Global, Brazil exported about $700 million worth of agricultural products to the European bloc that will receive immediate relief under the EU-Mercosur tariff cuts.<\/p>\n
Brazilian agribusiness exports totaled $170 billion in 2025, of which about $25 billion went to the European Union. Bruno Capuzzi, a researcher at Insper Agro Global, estimates that $17 billion in products Brazil sold to Europe already enter tariff-free, as is the case with soybeans and green coffee. That leaves another $8 billion in agribusiness products that will benefit from the agreement, most of them through tariff reductions over four to 10 years. Of that total, about $700 million will be affected immediately by the EU-Mercosur tariff cuts, becoming duty-free as soon as the agreement begins.<\/p>\n
In addition to soybean oil, products such as leather derivatives, vinegars, bone meal proteins and wines will also become tariff-free, Capuzzi said. Items such as soluble coffee, beef and chicken will see tariffs reduced gradually. The new rules will apply to all Mercosur countries, not only Brazil.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still do not know how demand will behave, but the potential increase in shipments could indeed translate into better margins for rural producers,\u201d Capuzzi said.<\/p>\n
Daniel Amaral, director of economics and regulatory affairs at the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries, told Valor that soybean oil tariffs currently range from 3.2% to 9.6%, depending on the product\u2019s use, industrial or food, and on its degree of processing, crude or refined. Soybean meal is already tariff-free.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the implementation of the agreement, tariffs on crude soybean oil will be eliminated, while duties on other types of oil will be reduced to 4%. This tariff relief represents a significant step forward for Brazilian product access to the European market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The expectation is that the EU-Mercosur tariff cuts will also attract new investment across the soybean supply chain. Even so, Abiove estimates that the most significant gains will come over the longer term, rather than through any abrupt shift in export volumes this year.<\/p>\n
The chart below shows the products most exported by Brazil to the European Union\u2019s 27 member states in the first two months of the year. The data comes from Datamar\u2019s DataLiner platform.<\/p>\n
Top Products Exported to the EU | Jan-Feb | TEUs<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n