Major business chambers have praised the agreement reached between Mercosur and the European Union. "This commercial opening will surely benefit Mercosur, Argentina, and particularly our sector," recognized the Rural Society. "From now on, we await the ratification of the agreement by the European Parliament and the Mercosur member countries." The Rural Society (SRA) classified it as "a key day for our Argentina and the Region" after the signing of the agreement following 25 years of negotiations. Additionally, the country's Commercial and Grain Exchanges also celebrated the signing of the Agreement. They highlighted the signing by the presidents of the member countries and considered it "a significant step in the process of integration and cooperation between both blocs and in strengthening the commercial, economic, and productive ties between the two regions." In this sense, they stated that the agreement presents significant potential for the Argentine agro-industry, by expanding market access opportunities and improving the international insertion conditions of agri-food chains, especially those oriented towards products with higher added value and high-demand destinations. Likewise, they pointed out that the new scenario opens up favorable prospects for the development of productive investments, the strengthening of export capacity, and the consolidation of agro-industrial complexes, in a context that, even with a gradual implementation, helps to order expectations and generate sustained incentives for production and industrialization. From the country's Commercial and Grain Exchanges, the "relevance that this process can have for the country's logistics and port network, whose performance is key to supporting greater integration of the country into international trade flows" is emphasized. "It will allow strengthening the presence of agro-industrial products in the European market, one of the largest and with the greatest purchasing power in the world. All this provides long-term predictability, essential for investment, certifications, and productive planning," celebrated the ruralist communiqué. The Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) had already welcomed the agreement in opinion columns and interviews with its president, Martín Rappallini, who considered that the agreement will be "very important at the industrial level" and that in such a complex world with so many geopolitical problems, it is noteworthy that Argentina is strengthening ties with the European Union. The head of the central industrial body said that the agreement "must be read in a broader key than the strictly commercial" because it is "a strategic opportunity to strengthen Argentina's relationship with the productive world, creating a favorable framework for investments, technology incorporation, and commercial expansion under predictable conditions." The EU member countries, he specified, have "more than 700 million inhabitants and nearly 20% of world GDP, with a high level of income and demanding production standards" and the block is one of the main investors in Argentina, with a strong presence in industry, energy, services, and infrastructure. After the signing of the Agreement, the Argentine government published a communiqué highlighting that the EU is the world's third economy, with 15% of global GDP and the world's second-largest importer, with 13% of the global total. From the Rural Society, we are at the disposal of the members of the Legislative Power to be part of the debate, present our contributions, and achieve the necessary consensos with the objective that Argentina becomes a country with clear rules, competitive, and predictable," highlighted the entity. The SRA also recalled a recent report from the Economic and International Negotiations Institutes that specified that 6 out of every 10 dollars exported by Argentina come from agriculture. "The agreement signed today opens a concrete opportunity for scaling, diversification, and greater added value and will grant concrete commercial benefits, where 99% of the agro-industrial exports of Mercosur access to benefits, 70% of the products enter without tariffs from the beginning, 14% with gradual tariff reduction (3, 7, or 10 years), and 15% through quotas with reduced or zero tariffs." The EU, the government recalled, "will eliminate tariffs for 92% of Mercosur's exports and give preferential access to another 7.5%, leaving only 0.5 percent excluded." In this way, it was specified, "99% of the agricultural exports of MERCOSUR to the EU will benefit." The Group of 6 (G6), which includes the Argentine Banks Association (Adeba), the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (BCBA), the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services, the Argentine Chamber of Construction (Camarco), the SRA, and the UIA, said that "in a fair and competitive framework, it will be beneficial for the development of the nations involved and their inhabitants." In addition, it will favor the work that the national government has been doing towards greater international insertion.
