With the world record for the number of free trade agreements concluded, the European Union is already the main trading partner of many of the 76 countries with which it has active agreements. Opening up to new markets is in line with the trade policy outlined in the last decade, but recently there has been a strong acceleration in response to threats coming from across the Atlantic with tariffs imposed – and still recently threatened – by US President Donald Trump.
Read more Horse racing, Varenne has died: the greatest trotter of all time
Ask the Sun
The questions are automatically suggested by 24Ore AI
based on the content displayed.
Since 2024, three agreements have been modernized, two new ones have been concluded, and – at the moment – there are another seven being defined, for a total of 12 agreements involved.
As stated by the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the acceleration has a political as well as commercial significance: the agreements have become tools of economic sovereignty and strategic resilience in a context where geoeconomic competition is perceived as a primary and structural risk. Diversifying supply sources and trading partners, mitigating risks, overseeing critical supply chains, accessing strategic raw materials, and consolidating presence in the most dynamic areas of the global economy are some of the objectives pursued by the EU.
Read more Over 3 billion euros in damage to agricultural production
The new agreements
The agreement with New Zealand, in force since May 2024, is characterized by immediate and total liberalization: 100% of EU exports enter the New Zealand market duty-free, while the European Union commits to eliminating or reducing tariffs on most New Zealand products by 2031. The sectors that benefit the most are machinery and vehicles, furniture and their parts, measuring instruments, clothing and accessories, food and live animals, products for which tariffs in New Zealand reached up to 10 percent.
Trade between Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) and the European Union exceeded 111 billion euros in 2024. The agreement, provisionally applied since May 2026, aims to protect the industrial transition of South American countries, with differentiated timelines by sector. The automotive sector requires protection (combustion vehicles 15 years, electric 18 years, with an initial tariff of 25%), while agri-food sees wine liberalized in four years and cheese/chocolate in 14 years with initial favorable quotas. This gradual approach allows protecting the most sensitive sectors of Mercosur, while quickly opening markets where the EU is more competitive.
Read more Trump, record of super rich in the administration: 57 have assets over 100 million
