Negotiations between the EU and MERCOSUR on the trade pillar concluded in June 2019, while the political and cooperation components were finalised in 2020. In September 2025, the European Commission proposed the signature and conclusion of two parallel legal instruments: the EU–MERCOSUR Partnership Agreement (EMPA), covering the political and cooperation components, and the interim Trade Agreement (iTA), encompassing the trade pillar. In January 2026, both Parties formalised the Agreement in Asunción, Paraguay, bringing 25 years of negotiations to a close. On 25 February 2026, the Commission announced its immediate provisional application.

This project focuses on the Intellectual Property Chapter, with particular emphasis on geographical indications (GIs). These provisions provide a particularly clear illustration of the regulatory trade-offs embedded in the Agreement, as they were negotiated alongside concessions on agricultural market access.

For MERCOSUR countries, compliance with these commitments entails substantial adjustment costs and significant challenges for institutional development and regional integration. In this context, the legal implications of the Agreement are closely intertwined with broader questions of economic and productive development.

By focusing initially on the intellectual property chapter, the project will examine whether the implementation of these regulatory standards may, in practice, operate as a form of legal and regulatory conditionality, potentially restricting access to the EU market and affecting intra-MERCOSUR circulation.

Particular attention will be paid to the challenges involved in adapting national and regional legal frameworks to higher regulatory standards. The project will assess whether such adaptations could contribute to productive upgrading in MERCOSUR countries or, conversely, risk reinforcing existing patterns of primary specialisation.