Mercosur – a promise has been attached to the free trade agreement for Latin America for years: more trade, fewer tariffs, closer political ties with Europe. After tough negotiations that lasted over a quarter of a century, a breakthrough finally seemed to have been achieved in January: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed a trade agreement with the Mercosur states. But it is still not in force today because a few days later the European Parliament surprisingly decided to have it legally examined. In the Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, people then asked themselves how seriously the EU should still be taken. And it is precisely this hesitation that the US President is now taking advantage of Donald Trumpto create facts.