The EU-Mercosur trade agreement: who claims the lower tariff in the EU
Since 1 May 2026 goods from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay can enter the EU at lower tariffs. The exporter makes out the proof of origin. The importer in the EU claims the tariff. This page explains both, and when an EU company of your own is needed.
Ask about your situationThe lower tariff is claimed by the importer in the EU, in the customs declaration for release into free circulation, based on a statement on origin made out by the exporter. Any EU importer can do this: your buyer, a customs representative that declares for you, or your own EU company.
For tariff-rate quotas managed with import licences, such as beef, poultry, sugar and ethanol, the licence is for a company established and registered for VAT in the EU (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760, Article 3). To use those quotas in your own name, you need your own EU company; the other way is to sell to an EU importer that has the licence.
Your own EU company adds more: it is the importer for customs, VAT and EU product rules, it keeps stock close to your buyers, and the tariff saving is part of your own margin when you sell from that stock.
The status of the agreement
The EU and the four Mercosur countries signed the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and an interim Trade Agreement on 17 January 2026. The Council had decided on the signature and the provisional application on 9 January 2026 (Council Decision (EU) 2026/183). The text of the interim Trade Agreement was published in the Official Journal on 27 February 2026 (OJ L, 2026/184).
The interim Trade Agreement applies provisionally since 1 May 2026 with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (notice OJ L, 2026/868).
On 21 January 2026 the European Parliament asked the Court of Justice of the EU for an opinion on the agreements. Its consent vote waits for that opinion. The EU adopted a regulation with safeguards for agricultural products on 5 March 2026 (Regulation (EU) 2026/687, in force since 9 April 2026).
What changes in the tariff
Once fully implemented, the agreement removes duties on 92% of Mercosur exports to the EU. The EU phases out its duties on all industrial goods over ten years and liberalises 82% of its agricultural imports. The rest of agriculture enters through tariff-rate quotas.
Two examples from Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/996. Beef: 9,075 tonnes fresh and 7,425 tonnes frozen for 2026, rising to 99,000 tonnes in total from 2031, at an in-quota duty of 7.5%. Poultry: 30,000 tonnes in 2026, rising to 180,000 tonnes from 2031, duty-free. Sugar for refining, ethanol, pigmeat, maize and sorghum, cheese, milk powder and eggs also have quotas with licences.
Check the tariff for your product code in Access2Markets, the trade database of the European Commission, which shows the duty for each year of the phase-out.
The proof of origin: the statement on origin
The exporter makes out a statement on origin on the invoice or another commercial document. EU exporters quote their registered exporter number (REX). Exporters in Mercosur quote their tax number: the CNPJ in Brazil, the CUIT in Argentina and the RUT in Uruguay. Paraguay issues certificates of origin.
For a transition period of three years, which can be extended by up to two years, the EU also accepts certificates of origin from Mercosur. A statement on origin is valid for 12 months. The claim for the lower tariff is based on the statement of the exporter.
The importer keeps the statement for at least three years after the import (Article 3.22). When customs asks the exporting country to verify it, the answer is due within ten months; after that, customs can refuse the lower tariff (Article 3.25(6) and (7)).
How the EU importer claims the tariff
In the declaration for release into free circulation, the importer enters three things: the origin of the goods (data element 16 09: the country code, or 5500 for Mercosur), the preference code (data element 14 11: 300, or 320 for goods within a quota) and the document code of the statement on origin (data element 12 03: U126).
A customs agent enters these codes for you, based on the documents from the exporter.
Quotas with import licences
For quotas managed with licences, the applicant must be established and registered for VAT in the EU (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760, Article 3(1)). Import licences can be transferred to another company (Article 7(1)). For each quota managed with licences, the importer lodges a security with the licence application (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/996). The goods come with a quota authorisation certificate from the Mercosur country of export (Article 3.30 of the agreement; model in notice OJ L, 2026/874). For beef and poultry, importers also register in the EU licence database (LORI) from 1 January 2027.
Other quotas, for example for biodiesel, infant formula and cane spirits, are first come, first served at customs (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/888). For those, the customs declaration itself claims the quota, with the quota authorisation certificate of the country of export.
What an EU company of your own adds
The declarant must be established in the EU (Union Customs Code, Article 170). A Brazilian exporter therefore sells to an EU importer, imports through an EU customs representative, or has its own EU company. With its own Dutch company, the exporter is the importer: it claims the tariff, applies for the quota licences where needed, applies for the Article 23 licence to defer the import VAT, and sells to buyers across the EU from stock in the Netherlands.
For soy, coffee, cattle products and wood, the EU importer is also the operator under the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which applies from 30 December 2026 for large and medium companies and from 30 June 2027 for small ones.
Dividends from the Dutch company to a parent in Brazil: Dutch law exempts dividends to a parent company in a treaty country, Brazil included, when the holding and anti-abuse conditions are met (Dividend Tax Act 1965, Article 4(2)).
Sources: Council Decision (EU) 2026/183; notice on provisional application, OJ L, 2026/868; European Commission, Access2Markets and the guidance on the rules of origin of the interim Trade Agreement (April 2026); Implementing Regulations (EU) 2026/996 and 2026/888; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760; Union Customs Code, Article 170; European Parliament, legislative train on the EU-Mercosur agreements; Dutch Dividend Tax Act 1965, Article 4. Checked on 25 September 2026.
Who does what
Holdwise sets up and manages the Dutch importer. Customs agents and specialists handle the declarations, the quota licences and the deforestation rules. You keep one contact.
Your company
- Your products and the product codes
- The statement on origin on your invoices
- Your EU buyers and your prices
The Dutch base
- Sets up the Dutch BV by power of attorney, with the notary
- Customs number (EORI), VAT number and the Article 23 application
- Bookkeeping and VAT returns, month by month
- One point of contact for customs, bank and partners
Customs, quotas, deforestation rules
- Customs agent for the declarations and the preference codes
- Import licences for quotas and the securities
- Due diligence statements under the EUDR for soy, coffee, cattle and wood
- Warehouse in the Netherlands
Step by step
From an export to an EU buyer to imports in the name of your own EU company.
- Your products. You share your product codes, your volumes and your buyers. Holdwise answers in writing which import set-up fits and whether your products fall under a quota.
- The company. The notary sets up the Dutch BV by power of attorney, usually within one week once all documents are complete.
- The numbers. Customs number (EORI), VAT number and the Article 23 application; for quotas with licences, the registration for import licences.
- The proof of origin. A statement on origin on every invoice, with the CNPJ, CUIT or RUT of your exporter.
- The first import. The customs agent declares the goods with preference code 300 or 320 and document code U126.
- Every month. Bookkeeping and the VAT return, and the origin documents kept for at least three years.
Related guides
More for exporters from Latin America and for trade agreements.
Common questions
Ask about your own situation
Tell us what you make or sell, where your company is and which countries you want to sell in. You get a written answer. Where a Dutch company fits, we write down what it would look like and what it costs.
Ask a question