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A trade deal between Mercosur and the EU could shift sourcing patterns for European houses looking outside Asia.
May 12. Business of Fashion reports a Mercosur-EU trade agreement is advancing, which would lower tariffs on Brazilian apparel exports to Europe. The deal has been negotiated for years; this week's movement suggests it may finally clear.
The specifics matter for sourcing. Brazil produces cotton domestically and runs garment factories at a scale below China or Vietnam but above most South American neighbors. A tariff drop would make Brazilian-made pieces competitive with Turkish or Moroccan production for European brands that want to diversify supply chains without moving to Asia.
Shipping time from São Paulo to Lisbon is roughly two weeks by sea. That's faster than Shenzhen to Rotterdam but slower than Istanbul to Milan. The tariff reduction would tighten the cost gap enough that lead time becomes the deciding variable. For a brand running four collections a year instead of two, that window matters.
Brazilian factories already produce for domestic labels like Osklen and Farm Rio. The question is whether European houses will route orders there for their own lines or keep Brazil as a backup supplier when Asian capacity tightens.
This isn't about Brazil becoming the next Bangladesh. It's about European brands having one more option when they need 5,000 units in six weeks and their main supplier is booked. The deal makes that option cheaper. Whether it makes it faster depends on the factory, not the trade agreement.
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