The agreements concluded by the European Union to date have had a significant positive impact on European, and particularly Italian, exports. According to CSC estimates, they have generated cumulative growth in Italian sales to South Korea of approximately 55 per cent in the long term, and nearly 10 per cent in Canada over two years.

In July 2019, a trade agreement was reached between the Mercosur countries and the EU, which will grant European businesses priority access to a market of 260 million consumers that is currently highly protected by both tariff and non-tariff barriers.

In sectors relevant to Italian exports to this region, such as machinery and chemical-pharmaceutical products, current tariffs exceed 15 per cent. Over the ten years following the entry into force of the Agreement, these tariff barriers will be eliminated on 91 per cent of products imported from the EU.

Which countries are included in Mercosur? It is a space for cooperation and economic integration in the Latin American region. Members include Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela (currently suspended). Mexico and New Zealand hold observer status.