US duties, Italian wine looks to new markets. But Mercosur is worth 0.57% of exports

While a breakthrough is awaited on the issue of U.S. duties, which still appears nebulous, with wine, on the eve of August 1, the date on which tariffs on goods are supposed to start applying after the U.S.-EU “verbal” agreement, still hoping to be on the “zero-for-zero” list (whose timeframe will probably be lengthened, ed.), in recent weeks, from sector organizations down to consortia, many are pushing further on a topic that has never been out of date, that of market diversification. In particular, under the magnifying glass is Mercosur (whose member countries are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay; Bolivia in fact joined in July 2024, and is for the moment excluded from the agreement, and Venezuela is suspended), an economic area that all analyses give as being in great future development, with attentions, and pressure, from the wine world, pushing for a speedy ratification of the Mercosur-EU agreement. As is well known, negotiations ended last December 6, news welcomed by the wine world, and less so by agricultural organizations. The agreement, in any case, promises to eliminate duties on wine, which in Brazil, for example, are 27%, facilitate import procedures and protect Geographical Indications, opening, in fact, unprecedented and interesting prospects. As the Italian Trade Agency’s in-depth look at the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (January 2025) pointed out, “for the agri-food sector, the agreement provides for the elimination of tariffs on imports of many products. Currently, tariffs applicable in Mercosur countries to wine and beverages reach as high as 35%”. Obviously, diversifying markets is an opportunity and something to insist on, especially at this historical moment where the solid certainties, see the U.S. market, which in any case still remains positive in 2025, and fundamental, irreplaceable (with its 1.9 billion euros in 2024, and 667 million euros in the first four months, ed.) are fewer and fewer, and with a very concentrated Italian market, with the top 5 markets (U.S., Germany, U.K., Canada and Switzerland) concentrating more than 60% of values.
But how much is the Mercosur market worth, as of today, for Italian wine? According to Istat data, analyzed by WineNews, in 2024 exports to the four member countries of the area covered by the agreement reached 46.7 million euros, or 0.57% of the total (8.1 billion euros). Brazil covers a huge share, 41.3 million euros (+12.6% over 2023), ahead of Uruguay (2.7 million euros), Paraguay (1.9 million euros) and Argentina (669,946 euros). In the first four months of 2025 Mercosur went up over the same period in 2024 (exports generated 12.2 million euros, +4.8%), but with distinctions: Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay are down, Brazil with 11.4 million grows by 7.4% and continues, therefore, its march of growth and interest in Italian wine while remaining, however, still far from the numbers of other countries. Of course, finding something that can serve as an alternative to the United States, especially if duties become a reality, seems impossible. Numbers say it: the States, as mentioned, with 1.9 billion euros, bought almost a quarter, by value, of Italian wine sold abroad in 2024, the year of records. And even in this “strange” 2025, they are the ones importing the most and affecting the performance of the Italian wine sector. True, at the same time, there is no shortage of countries that are growing and showing excellent potential. When the wine world lobbies for the “unblocking” of the EU-Mercosur agreement, it looks especially to Brazil, a market that, as we have seen, has made progress and could make further progress without the “burden” of a duty that, as a result, favors the wine sales of neighboring competitors such as Chile and Argentina. But the numbers say there is still a long way to go.