After signing their trade agreement in January 2026, the European Union (EU) and four Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) are now moving toward its implementation in June, albeit on a provisional basis. This was made possible when the European Commission decided on February 26 to implement the trade elements of their broader agreement on a provisional basis, rather than wait for a ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) based on a request by the European Parliament. This was the same approach the EU followed in its provisional implementation of its trade agreement with Canada in 2016. This post looks at the steps leading to provisional application and its implications.
In September 2025, the Commission had split its agreement with Mercosur into a broader EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA) and an EU-only interim Trade Agreement (iTA) “to allow the trade provisions to be applied more quickly after ratification by the EU and Mercosur countries, while the EMPA undergoes ratification by all EU Member States.”
On January 9, the Council of the EU authorized the signing of the EMPA and iTA and empowered the Commission to provisionally apply the agreement after the first ratification by one Mercosur country.
The iTA reflects the trade and investment liberalization pillar of the EMPA and includes provisions on government procurement. Its provisions fall within the EU’s exclusive competence and therefore the iTA does not requireratification by individual EU member states. The iTA will function as a stand-alone agreement until it is superseded when the full EMPA enters into force. The EMPA will fully enter into force once all EU member states and Mercosur parties have completed ratification and it has received the consent of the European Parliament.
on January 21, 2026, the European Parliament decided by a narrow margin to request an opinion from the CJEU on the compatibility of certain elements of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement with the EU treaties. This means that Parliament will not be able to vote to grant consent (or not) to the agreement until the CJEU has issued its ruling, which is not expected before 2027 or 2028.
On February 25, Argentina and Uruguay became the first Mercosur countries to ratify the EU-Mercosur Agreement, with Brazil and Paraguay expected to follow soon. According to Borderlex, the EU and Mercosur are aiming for provisional application on June 1, 2026.
The Commission has not provisionally applied a trade agreement “without letting the European Parliament have a say” for a decade. In 2016, the EU ratified provisional application of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). CETA entered into force provisionally on September 21, 2017 and continues to be applied provisionally. Although 17 EU member states have completed their national ratification processes, 10 member states have yet to ratify CETA at a national level: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland and Slovenia.
Based on the EU’s experience with CETA, the provisional application of the iTA could extend for a number of years, unless the CJEU issues an adverse ruling.
Jean Heilman Grier
March 6, 2026
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