Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the economic impact of the European Union-Mercosur trade deal, Russia’s hypersonic threat to Ukraine and NATO, and mass protests in Iran.

The European Union gave the green light on Friday to a trade deal with South America’s Mercosur bloc, overcoming 25 years of drawn-out negotiations to create one of the largest free-trade zones in the world. Although the deal’s key European backers, such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, are trumpeting the agreement as a win, analysts suggest that the accord’s economic impact on the continent will be minimal at best—and could spark further political unrest at worst.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the economic impact of the European Union-Mercosur trade deal, Russia’s hypersonic threat to Ukraine and NATO, and mass protests in Iran.

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The European Union gave the green light on Friday to a trade deal with South America’s Mercosur bloc, overcoming 25 years of drawn-out negotiations to create one of the largest free-trade zones in the world. Although the deal’s key European backers, such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, are trumpeting the agreement as a win, analysts suggest that the accord’s economic impact on the continent will be minimal at best—and could spark further political unrest at worst.

Under the EU-Mercosur deal, more than 90 percent of tariffs on EU exports will be eliminated to allow for an integrated market of some 780 million consumers. Europe has framed the agreement as necessary to counter steep U.S. tariffs, which would bolster the EU’s automobile and pharmaceutical industries, as well as a significant way to burnish the bloc’s reputation on the world stage.

The EU also believes that the deal will help diversify European markets, specifically by providing another source of critical raw materials apart from China. Beijing is South America’s biggest trading........

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