Israel is the first country outside South America to sign a pioneering free-trade agreement with Mercosur, a regional bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and produces more than $3 trillion in combined GDP.
With the agreement, which went into effect April 11, bilateral trade is expected to increase threefold in the next five years.
The final approval for the agreement was announced by Brazilian President Luiz Inàcio Lula da Silva on March 15 during his visit to Israel.
Brazil is Israel’s largest trade partner in Latin America.
The new agreement is expected to provide a special boost to trade in agriculture, education, science, medicine and space. — jta