The European Commission has approved a partnership agreement with Mercosur countries — Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay — as well as a separate wine accord with Mexico, in a move hailed by Italy’s wine industry as a long-awaited boost to exports. The deals will now go before the European Council and Parliament for ratification.
Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of Unione Italiana Vini – UIV (Italian Wine Union), said the agreements sent “an important signal in favour of free markets, at a time when they seemed to have fallen off the radar”. He described them as “the kind of trade deals we like”.
DIVERSIFICATION PUSH
With a Latin American population of 270 million, the trade partnerships are seen as a chance to diversify away from reliance on the US, where tariffs remain a risk. “The watchword is diversification: Italy’s export base is still too concentrated on a handful of markets, the US above all,” Frescobaldi said.
Brazil, the biggest wine importer in Mercosur, is already showing promise. In the first half of this year, Italian wine exports to Brazil rose 5.5 per cent in value to €18.5mn million, with still and sparkling wines up 8.5 per cent, according to Uiv’s Observatory.
Italy is currently Brazil’s third-largest supplier, with sales worth €40 million in 2024, behind Portugal (€75 million), and France (€50 million). Chile (€186 million) and Argentina (€90 million) dominate the market. Overall, EU wine imports into Brazil reached €190 million last year, up 41 per cent over the past five years. The phased removal of Brazil’s 27 per cent tariff is expected to further strengthen Italy’s competitive position.