Congress approved MERCOSUR's first free trade agreement with an Asian country

The Argentine Congress completed approval of the free trade treaty that MERCOSUR signed with Singapore in Rio de Janeiro on December 7, 2023 — the bloc's first with an Asian country. The Senate had approved it earlier; the Foreign Affairs and MERCOSUR committees of the Chamber of Deputies reported favourably on Aug 12, 2026, and on Aug 26, 2026 the Chamber gave it final passage (234 votes in favor and 4 against, according to the press). It is Ley 27.819, promulgated by Decreto 1010/2026 and published in the Boletín Oficial on Sep 15, 2026. The agreement covers goods, services, investment and intellectual property, and takes the Asian country's tariff on Argentine exports to zero. What the Chamber's own release places alongside it, and is worth keeping: Argentina already runs a trade surplus with Singapore, but last year it exported LESS to Singapore than to Cuba. So today's size is small; what the agreement changes is the rule, not the volume. And one figure that is about scale: Singapore is one of the largest investors in port logistics in Buenos Aires. prob · Aug 26, 2026 ↗

It is Ley 27.819: passed on Aug 26, 2026, promulgated by Decreto 1010/2026 of Sep 14 and published in the Boletín Oficial on Sep 15, 2026. But the law approves the treaty, and that does not bring it into force: for Argentina it applies once the ratification is deposited and the agreement's own entry-into-force clause is met, which also depends on the other MERCOSUR members. As of Oct 2, 2026 that does not appear in the Boletín Oficial. verif · Sep 15, 2026 ↗

Every Argentine exporter with a product that can be placed in Singapore — above all food and agribusiness — and anyone using Singapore as a gateway to Southeast Asia. And in the other direction, port logistics: Singapore is already one of the sector's largest investors in Buenos Aires, so the agreement lowers the regulatory cost for capital that is already here. thesis · Aug 12, 2026