Argentina Signs Free Trade Agreement with EFTA Countries

In a triumphant stride for South American trade diplomacy, Argentina, alongside its Mercosur partners-Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay-signed a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland on September 16, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Culminating over eight years of negotiations launched in 2017, with intensified talks from early 2025, the deal liberates 97% of tariff lines, forging a vast market of nearly 300 million consumers and a combined GDP surpassing $4.3 trillion. Argentine Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein, leading the Mercosur delegation, lauded it as a "gateway to diversified exports," spotlighting beef, soybeans, wine, and lithium—key to President Javier Milei's pro-market agenda amid 55% inflation and fiscal austerity. The pact encompasses services, investments, intellectual property, sustainable development, and dispute settlement, echoing WTO standards while prioritizing environmental safeguards and labor rights. Proponents, including Swiss Vice President Guy Parmelin, envision boosted fisheries from EFTA to Mercosur ports and enhanced tech transfers, potentially adding $2 billion annually to Argentina's exports by 2030. It sidesteps EU-Mercosur hurdles, offering a nimble alternative in a fragmented global order. Critics, however, decry insufficient protections for local industries like dairy and textiles, fearing Swiss and Norwegian competition could displace 50,000 jobs, per union estimates. Environmentalists flag lax enforcement on Amazon deforestation linked to agribusiness gains. As ratification processes unfold-targeting 2026 entry into force-this FTA signals Argentina's pivot toward multilateralism, balancing Milei's libertarian zeal with regional solidarity to harness Vaca Muerta's energy boom and lithium triangle riches for inclusive growth.