Mercosur and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) signed a free-trade agreement on Tuesday, opening up a market of 300 million people in what Brazil described as a “clear signal” against Washington’s protectionist policies. The treaty covers Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein on the EFTA side, and Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia for Mercosur, markets with a combined GDP of around US$4.3 trillion. The Mercosur-EFTA Free Trade Agreement will only take effect once it has been ratified by the parliaments of each member state in both blocs. Vieira also stressed that there are “excellent prospects” for concluding the European Union-Mercosur trade deal before the end of the year. Talks between Mercosur and EFTA began in January 2017 and concluded in July this year.