Mercosur

South American customs union comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and (since 2024) Bolivia. - Under strain from Brazil-Argentina tensions

Brazil protected Argentina's embassy in Caracas for 14 months after Nicolás Maduro expelled Argentine diplomats in July 2024. That arrangement ended on January 16, 2026, when Italy assumed custodianship—a shift triggered by Brazil's opposition to the U.S. military operation that captured Maduro two weeks earlier, and accelerated by Argentine President Javier Milei's sustained social media attacks on Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Updated Feb 3

South American customs union comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. - Member states accelerating internal ratification processes

Negotiations between the EU and Mercosur began in 1999. Twenty-six years later, on January 17, 2026, representatives signed a comprehensive free trade agreement in Asunción, Paraguay—the same city where Mercosur itself was founded in 1991. The deal eliminates tariffs on more than 90% of bilateral trade and creates the world's largest free trade zone, covering over 700 million consumers and roughly a quarter of global GDP. Days after the signing, the European Parliament voted 334-324 to refer the agreement to the European Court of Justice over legal concerns about the Commission's decision to split the deal into trade and non-trade pillars, potentially bypassing national parliaments.

Updated Jan 26