Argentina's President Javier Milei waves upon arriving for the signing ceremony of the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, at the Gran Teatro Jose Asuncion Flores of Paraguay's Central Bank in Asuncion on January 17, 2026. The South American bloc Mercosur and the European Union signed a deal on January 17, 25 years in the making, to create one of the world's biggest free trade areas at a time of growing protectionism and volatility.