Banca March : The countdown for Mercosur and the EU is approaching. The creation of an export alliance between Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the EU has been dragging on for more than two decades and could be settled without a resolution in the coming weeks. An agreement was reached in June 2019 but was not signed as a result of European requests to the South American countries to strengthen environmental measures. Mercosur attributed the withdrawal of the European position to fears of competition in agricultural products. South American nations are pushing to finalise a deal by early December. The impatience of some politicians, including Paraguay’s president, has led to the ultimatum; he will withdraw from the negotiations if a deal is not reached by 6 December.