On 1 May, the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement (ITA) will start being provisionally applied. This will allow EU producers, exporters, and farmers to start reaping the benefits of this deal as of day one. 
The provisional application of the ITA will create new opportunities, supporting the exports of industrial goods, services, and agri-food products to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. It will immediately remove or drastically reduce tariffs on key exports such as cars, pharmaceuticals, and foresee a first tariff cut for most agri-food products such as wine, spirits and olive oil, immediately creating new export opportunities for EU farmers.
Benefits for exporters of goods and services
Exporters of goods will benefit from immediate tariff relief as of 1 May, when the first tariff cuts start applying.
Moreover, EU companies can start bidding for public and government contracts in Mercosur on an equal footing with local companies. The deal removes most preferences given to domestic firms in government contracts both at federal and state level, making the tendering for contracts procedures simpler and more transparent.
Services exporters will immediately benefit from new opportunities as well, thanks to the implementation of clear licensing rules, non-discriminatory procedures, and movement of workers.
1 May also marks the start of eliminating non-tariff barriers and technical barriers to trade, with rules on conformity assessment, rules on labelling and respect of international standards being applied. This will ensure that EU companies can operate in an easier and faster manner, delivering immediate commercial benefits.
Benefits for farmers and agri-food exporters
The provisional application of the deal creates a better and more competitive environment for EU agri-food producers to export their products to the four countries of Mercosur.
The EU is the world’s biggest exporter of food and drink products, and our high-quality products are renowned across the globe. The agreement is expected to lead to a 50% increase in EU agri-food exports to the Mercosur region. As of 1 May, the EU will have access to the first part of tariff rate quota volumes, while a first tariff cut for most agri-food products will create new export opportunities for EU farmers immediately.
Last but not least, Mercosur countries will start protecting 344 EU Geographical Indications (GIs) as of 1 May, banning imitations as well as misleading terms, symbols, flags or images. Only genuine products, such as, for example, Roquefort cheese made in Roquefort, France, will carry the GI name.
The agreement also provides an unprecedented set of measures to protect sensitive agri-food sectors and ensure level-playing field and reciprocity, including carefully calibrated tariff rate quotas, a robust safeguard mechanism, and enhanced controls.
Background 
Provisional application follows the European Council decision in January to empower the Commission to provisionally apply the agreement as from the first ratification by one Mercosur country. On 27 February, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would proceed with provisional application. Provisional application allows the EU to immediately benefit from this deal, while ensuring democratic process and sensitivities are fully respected.
 
 
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Several key minerals that are essential inputs for digital and renewable energy technologies face high exposure to export restrictions, and the number of restrictions continues to rise, a new OECD report finds.
The annual update of the OECD Inventory of Export Restrictions on Critical Raw Materials tracks export restrictions and supports analysis of their impact on availability, prices and global supply chains. The OECD continues to monitor these measures over time. The latest edition, which analyses measures implemented through the end of 2024, shows that export restrictions on critical raw materials have increased steadily in the past 15 years, reaching an all-time high. Although the growth rate of new export restrictions slowed from 3.4% in 2023 to 0.6% in 2024, a wider range of countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, introduced new restrictions.
Some minerals essential for energy systems, such as cobalt, manganese, graphite and rare-earth elements, saw particularly high exposure to export restrictions. Roughly 70% of global exports of cobalt and manganese were subject to at least one export restriction between 2022 and 2024. 16% of trade in critical raw materials monitored by the OECD faced at least one export restriction over the same period.
“Countries around the world depend on reliable access to critical raw materials for economic growth, innovation and energy security,” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said at the OECD Critical Minerals Forum in Istanbul. “Export restrictions can increase supply chain vulnerabilities in highly concentrated supply chains by limiting export volumes and driving up prices. Improving transparency on these measures is key to promoting more open and diversified markets for critical minerals, incentivising much needed investment to scale up production and promoting mutually beneficial partnerships with producer countries.”
Click here to see the chart.
While demand for critical raw materials is rising rapidly, supply remains slow to adjust and highly concentrated. Although the leading producers differ by material, the top three countries for each of cobalt, lithium and nickel account for over two-thirds of global production, rising to nearly 90% for rare earth elements. There is also concentration in the policy measures adopted, with India (19%), China (17%), Argentina (6%), Viet Nam (5%) and Burundi (4%) accounting for over half of all new measures implemented between 2009 and 2024.
Waste and scrap materials remain the most frequently restricted category of critical raw materials in 2024, reflecting both environmental concerns and growing interest in the circular economy as a source of metals and minerals. In addition, export restrictions on upstream supply chains, such as ores and minerals, grew sharply between 2009 and 2024, having increased tenfold during this period.
Highly restrictive measures, such as export prohibitions and quotas, have become increasingly prevalent, accounting for more than one-third of new measures in 2024. Revenue generation has been the fastest-growing stated rationale behind export restrictions since the early 2010s and became the most cited reason in 2024, accounting for nearly half of measures.
For more information on OECD work on export restrictions on critical raw materials, visit https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/export-restrictions-on-critical-raw-materials.html.
The OECD provides data, analysis and platforms for dialogue to build more resilient and well-functioning critical raw material supply chains, including to help unlock new critical mineral supply chain investment, support economic growth and development in producer and consumer countries, and protect mine workers’ human rights and the environment. For more information, visit: https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/policy-issues/critical-minerals.html.
 
 

Compliments of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

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The European Commission today presented its plan to modernise EU lawmaking, ensuring that laws are clearer, simpler, more efficiently enforced, based on solid evidence and better aligned with the needs of citizens and businesses.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “Europe needs clear and coherent legislation that fully responds to the needs of our citizens and businesses. Today, we deliver our plan to make EU lawmaking more efficient, more effective, and more transparent. We will apply simplicity by design and continue to ensure every rule is supported by strong evidence. But that’s not all: we will also tackle gold-plating, speed up enforcement and clean up our current stock of legislation. This is a critical contribution to bolster our competitiveness.”
The Commission will act in five areas:

Simplicity by design: EU laws must be easy to understand, apply and enforce. The Commission aims to embed ‘simplicity by design’ into every proposal, ensuring clarity on who must act, how to comply, and the consequences of non-compliance.
Strengthening the better regulation framework: the better regulation system sets out the principles that the European Commission follows when preparing new initiatives. It is already among the most advanced in the world. It will be further improved to enhance transparency, stakeholder engagement and efficiency.
Regulatory deep cleaning: while the Union continues to pursue ambitious policies, it must also put its large stock of existing legislation in order. An Action Plan will tackle inconsistencies, overlapping and overly complex provisions in 12 priority areas.
Tackling regulatory gold-plating: the Commission will help Member States identify and tackle unnecessary complexity and barriers to the Single Market where they apply stricter or more extensive requirements than those set out in EU law.
Faster, robust enforcement: the Commission will strengthen enforcement of the Single Market rulebook in selected policy areas. A focus will also be placed on reducing the number of long-standing infringement cases.

At a time of profound global shifts, an efficient and effective regulatory framework is essential for European competitiveness. Simpler, better-designed, and easier-to-implement rules will therefore help to unlock economic potential and promote a more dynamic and integrated Single Market.
The European Parliament and the Council are essential partners in helping to make the objectives outlined in this Communication a reality. To that end, the Commission calls on the co-legislators to ensure that ‘simplicity by design’ and better regulation principles are applied consistently, by each Institution, during every legislative process.
Today’s Communication builds on President von der Leyen‘s Political Guidelines for 2024-2029, the commitments she made at the Leaders’ Retreat on 12 February 2026, and the Communication ‘A Simpler and Faster Europe‘.The post European Commission | Proposal of a Plan for Simpler, Clearer and Better Enforced EU Rules first appeared on European American Chamber of Commerce New York [EACCNY] | Your Partner for Transatlantic Business Resources.

Commodity prices forecast to rise by 16% this year, fueling inflation and slowing growth. 
Energy prices are projected to surge by 24% this year to their highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as the war in the Middle East sends a severe shock through global commodity markets, according to the World Bank Group’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook. Overall commodity prices are forecast to rise 16% in 2026, driven by soaring energy and fertilizer prices and record-high prices for several key metals.
The shock will have serious implications for job creation and development, the analysis indicates.
Attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about 35% of global seaborne crude oil trade, have triggered the largest oil supply shock on record, with an initial reduction in global oil supply of about 10 million barrels per day. Even after moderating from their recent peak, Brent oil prices remained more than 50% higher in mid-April than they were at the start of the year. Brent oil is forecast to average $86 a barrel in 2026, up sharply from $69 a barrel in 2025. These forecasts assume that the most acute disruptions end in May and that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz gradually returns to pre-war levels by late 2026.
“The war is hitting the global economy in cumulative waves: first through higher energy prices, then higher food prices, and finally, higher inflation, which will push up interest rates and make debt even more expensive,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics. “The poorest people, who spend the highest share of their income on food and fuels, will be hit the hardest, as will developing economies already struggling under heavy debt burdens. All of this is a reminder of a stark truth: war is development in reverse.”
Fertilizer prices are projected to increase by 31% in 2026, driven by a 60% jump in urea prices. Fertilizer affordability will fall to its worst level since 2022, eroding farmers’ incomes and threatening future crop yields. If the conflict proves more prolonged, these pressures on food supply and affordability could push up to 45 million more people into acute food insecurity this year, according to the World Food Programme.
Prices for base metals, including aluminum, copper, and tin, are also expected to reach all-time highs, reflecting strong demand related to industries including data centers, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. Precious metals continue to break price and volatility records, with average prices forecast to increase 42% in 2026, as geopolitical uncertainty fuels demand for safe-haven assets.
Rising commodity prices caused by these shocks will increase inflation and dampen growth worldwide. In developing economies, inflation is now projected to average 5.1% in 2026 under the baseline assumptions—a full percentage point higher than was expected before the war and an increase from 4.7% last year. Growth in developing economies will also deteriorate as higher prices for essentials weigh on incomes and exports from the Middle East face sharp curbs. Developing economies are expected to grow by 3.6% in 2026, a downward revision of 0.4 percentage point since January. Economies directly impacted by conflict will be hardest hit, and 70% of commodity importers and more than 60% of commodity exporters worldwide could see weaker growth than was projected in January.
Commodity prices could rise even higher if hostilities escalate or supply disruptions from the war last longer than projected. Brent oil prices could average as high as $115 a barrel in 2026 in a scenario where critical oil and gas facilities suffer more damage and export volumes are slow to recover. This in turn would have ripple effects on prices for fertilizer and alternative energy sources such as biofuels. Under this scenario, inflation in developing economies could rise to 5.8% this year, a level exceeded only in 2022 over the past decade.
“The succession of shocks over the decade has sharply reduced the fiscal space available to respond to the current historic energy supply crisis,” said Ayhan Kose, the World Bank’s Deputy Chief Economist and Director of the Prospects Group. “Governments must resist the temptation of broad, untargeted fiscal support measures that could distort markets and erode fiscal buffers. Instead, they should focus on rapid, temporary support targeted to the most vulnerable households.”
The report’s special focus finds that oil-price volatility during periods of rising geopolitical risk is roughly twice as high as during calmer periods, with a geopolitically driven 1% decline in oil production pushing prices up by an average of 11.5%. Critically, these effects spill over into other key commodity markets, with an impact roughly 50% larger than under normal market conditions. According to the report, a 10% oil price increase triggered by a geopolitical supply shock leads to natural gas price increases peaking at about 7% and fertilizer price increases peaking at over 5%. These peaks typically occur about a year after the initial oil price shock, with adverse consequences for food security and poverty reduction.
 
 
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