Sectoral Analysis

Mercosur's biggest exports to the EU in 2015 were agricultural products, such as foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco (24%), vegetable products including soya and coffee (18%) and meats and other animal products (6%). Other exports include mineral products (14%), wood and paper products (8%) and machinery (5%). The EU's exports to Mercosur include machinery (29%), vehicles and parts (17% of total exports) and chemicals and pharmaceuticals (24%). The EU is also a major exporter of commercial services to Mercosur (€20 billion in 2014).

Economic Analysis

For the four Mercosur countries negotiating with the EU, the EU is Mercosur's first trading partner, accounting for 21% of the bloc's total trade in 2015. The EU is the biggest foreign investor in the region, rising from €130 billion in 2000  to €387 billion in 2014. Mercosur is a major investor in the EU, with stocks of €115 billion in 2014.

Sustainability Analysis

Social Analysis
"Since the beginning of the 1990’s, the need to create a minimum social foundation for the development of trade - one that guarantees certain safeguards against social dumping – has resulted in the signing of an increasing number of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which include a labour dimension, either in the agreement itself or in a parallel agreement."

Environmental Analysis
The Amazon rainforest, covering much of northwestern Brazil and extending into Colombia, Peru and other South American countries, is the world’s largest tropical rainforest, famed for its biodiversity.

Human Rights Analysis
“Trade agreements invariably affect the human rights of consumers, residents, workers, those in poverty and others, and on the ability of States to regulate and protect the human rights of their people...” according to a joint report from the UN Human Rights office (OHCHR) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)