CSC Member Insights Session Explores EU Mercosur Agreement and Welcomes CSC’s New Members

As global trade evolves, one thing is becoming increasingly clear. Trade agreements alone are not enough. Digital trust must follow.

This was the focus of the latest Member Insights session hosted by the Cloud Signature Consortium on 24 March 2026, where members came together to explore the implications of the EU Mercosur Free Trade Agreement and to connect with organisations newly joining the CSC community.

A Shift in Perspective: Trade Depends on Trust

While the EU Mercosur agreement is often discussed in terms of tariffs, goods, and market access, the session invited participants to look at it from a different angle.

Guest speaker Jean Everson Martina, Associate Professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil), highlighted that behind every cross border transaction lies a more fundamental question. Can we trust the data, the documents, and the identities involved?

What are often described as non tariff barriers, such as compliance checks, certifications, and validation processes, are in reality trust challenges. They determine whether transactions can move efficiently across borders or become delayed, duplicated, and costly.

As trade becomes increasingly digital, these challenges become more visible. Verifying origin, ensuring integrity, and achieving legal recognition across jurisdictions are no longer optional. They are essential infrastructure for global trade.

From Insight to Action: Trust Without Borders

Building on this discussion, Daniel Rendon, CSC Board Member from SSL.com, and the Regional Partner of the Trust Without Borders Summit 2026, highlighted how these themes will be taken forward at the upcoming event.

Taking place in Bogotá, Colombia, on May 13th-14th, the CSC Summit will bring together regulators, industry leaders, and technical experts from across regions to address the very challenges discussed during the session. The focus will be on aligning regulatory frameworks and technical standards, strengthening interoperability, and enabling trusted cross border digital transactions at scale.

Members interested in continuing the conversation and engaging directly with this global ecosystem are encouraged to learn more about the Trust Without Borders Summit and explore the programme at www.cscsummit.com.

Different Starting Points, Shared Objective

The session also highlighted an important dynamic between regions.

In Europe, trust frameworks are typically developed through a regulation first approach. In many Latin American countries, large scale digital systems have already been implemented in practice, with standardisation evolving over time.

These different starting points can create complexity, but they also create opportunity. The EU Mercosur agreement is not only about connecting markets. It is about connecting trust frameworks and finding ways to make them interoperable.

Welcoming CSC’s New Members

The session also marked the introduction of several organisations newly joining CSC, reflecting the consortium’s continued global growth and diversity.

New members welcomed to CSC include:

• Trust Factory
• Stø AS
• Entaksi Solutions
• Savint Group
• Penneo

These organisations bring expertise across digital identity, PKI, and trust services, contributing to CSC’s mission of enabling secure and interoperable digital transactions worldwide.

Continuing the Conversation

If one message stood out from the session, it was this. Digital trade will only scale if digital trust crosses borders.

CSC members are encouraged to continue the discussion through upcoming initiatives, working groups, and events.

A full recording of the session will be made available in the CSC Community member area for those who would like to revisit the discussion or share it with colleagues.

For questions, contact: info@cloudsignatureconsortium.org.