Frankfurt/Brussels, December 16, 2025 – Following the vote in the European Parliament and ahead of the vote in the Council of the EU on the Mercosur trade agreement, Thilo Brodtmann, Executive Director of the VDMA, says: 
 

• "The EU Council can no longer afford to delay ratification of the trade agreement with Mercosur due to concerns about agricultural imports. After years of negotiations with Mercosur, we need a clear commitment to free trade and reliable partnerships."

• "The trade agreement with Mercosur would be a milestone for the European machinery and equipment manufacturing industry. It opens up access to new markets in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay, which currently impose some of the highest tariffs (around 11 percent) in our sector worldwide."

• "In order for Ursula von der Leyen to be able to sign the trade agreement on December 20, the EU must now deliver. We call on the Council of the EU to give its approval this week. It could be the last chance for the EU-Mercosur agreement."

VDMA Executive Director Thilo Brodtmann

 VDMA represents 3,600 German and European mechanical and plant engineering companies. The industry stands for innovation, export orientation, and small and medium-sized enterprises. The companies employ a total of around 3 million people in the EU-27, more than 1.2 million of them in Germany alone. This makes mechanical and plant engineering the largest employer among the capital goods industries, both in the EU-27 and in Germany. It accounts for an estimated turnover of around 870 billion euros in the European Union. Around 80 percent of the machines sold in the EU originate from a manufacturing facility in the internal market.