La Confindustria mission to Argentina and Brazil, which culminated yesterday with the meeting in Sao Paulo attended by over 100 Italian companies and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, could on paper have seemed like an expedition with handshakes and photo opportunities. Instead, it was immediately operational and will allow Italy to to gain an advantage over other European partners in South America, following the entry into force – provisional for now – of the free trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc, composed of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The EU-Mercosur agreement has already increased Italian exports by 21% by May 2026.
The agreement will have to be ratified by the Parliaments of the individual countries, including Italy where there is still resistance especially from the agricultural world, which is being welcomed by a segment of the government majority, but yesterday Minister Tajani was clear on this point, specifying that he will do everything he can to finalize an agreement that could mean a great deal to the Italian economy, particularly for exports but not only. Meanwhile, the agreement, which entered into force provisionally on May 1st, has already produced initial results: Italian exports to Mercosur amounted to 745 million euros in May. up 21,1% compared to the same month in 2025.
Italy already has a cultural and economic advantage in South America
Our country has a cultural and economic advantage, which was repeatedly highlighted during the mission by various institutional representatives, including the president of Confindustria Emanuele Orsini: approximately 50 million descendants of Italian emigrants live in South America, 1.400 Italian-owned companies already operate in Brazil, and 300 in Argentina. To consolidate this advantage, Confindustria quickly organized the first business-oriented mission organized by a European country in the area after the approval of the EU-Mercosur agreement: an intense week of B2B meetings and bilateral discussions which will end tomorrow in the capital Brasilia.
Here are the 5 strategic sectors chosen by Confindustria for the mission
The five strategic sectors chosen for B2B meetings – food, machinery and plant engineering, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, digital technologies and energy transition – these are the sectors in which our country is already very strong and will be able to become even stronger by benefiting from the progressive elimination of trade tariffs, starting with food, of which we are the leading EU exporter to South America but which until May 1st were still burdened by tariffs. duties above 30% for example on wine and olive oilTariffs are gradually decreasing, encouraging even greater entry into rapidly expanding markets: Argentina is expected to grow by 3,5% this year, Brazil by almost 2%.
Orsini (Confindustria): "Diversifying markets will strengthen the Italian economy."
At full capacity, Italian exports to those countries could double, from 7,5 billion euros in 2025 to the 14 billion estimated by Confindustria. "But I believe this value has even been underestimated," said Matteo Zoppas, president of the Italian Foreign Trade Institute. "In an increasingly complex and changing geopolitical landscape," he commented, the president of the industrialists Emanuele Orsini -, diversifying markets means reducing dependencies and making the Italian economy stronger and more resilient. In Mercosur, we don't just want to export more, but to build industrial partnerships, investments, and common supply chains capable of generating growth and mutual value.
Problems to be solved: protecting Made in Italy products and the ban on Brazilian meat
Although the intentions of this contact are absolutely constructive, there are still some issues to be resolved regarding the EU-Mercosur agreement. For example, Since September 3, Brussels has blocked imports of meat and other animal products from Brazil., making the South American country turn up its nose, which is instead in a hurry to implement the treaty, especially to sell beef, of which it is the world's leading producer, in Europe: exporting it to the US has become more complicated due to tariffs and China, another strategic partner, is increasing domestic production. Finally, for Italy, there is always the issue of Made in Italy: Mercosur is committed to legally protecting 355 European Geographical Indications, of which 57 are Italian, but the risk of counterfeiting and italian sounding remains high.
