About Merco

One workflow.
Every layer of
LATAM sourcing.

Fashion brands in Europe and the United States had no compliant, auditable path to source from Latin America. New trade agreements opened the lane — tightening enforcement regimes on both sides of the Atlantic made documentation non-optional. Compliance complexity, fragmented tooling, and no reliable payment layer blocked everyone. Merco handles all three in one platform.

72h

avg DDS prep time

4

Mercosur origins

7

verification criteria

12%

tariff eliminated by 2035

Why this exists

The EU-Mercosur FTA entered force in January 2026. Simultaneously, US Customs and Border Protection intensified UFLPA enforcement targeting LATAM supply chains. The regulatory environment changed for buyers on both sides of the Atlantic.

For EU-bound goods: EUDR requires geo-polygon farm data and a filed Due Diligence Statement before market entry. CSDDD adds supply-chain risk scoring for larger companies from 2027. For US-bound goods: CBP enforces a rebuttable presumption of forced labor against any shipment with LATAM supply chain exposure — the burden of proof falls on the importer, not the agency. Rules of Origin must be confirmed per HS code. Payment to LATAM suppliers means cross-currency wires with no recourse.

Merco was built to close that gap. Not as a consulting service. Not as a software tool that requires you to manage the process yourself. As a workflow: you submit a brief, review a verified shortlist, approve documents, and confirm milestones. The platform runs the rest.

Platform model

What you pay for. What you get.

0.5%

minimum platform fee

Progressive volume-based pricing starts at 3.5% and falls to 0.5% on large orders. A flat $149 compliance fee covers EUDR due-diligence, ROO calculation, and escrow structuring. No subscription. No hidden costs.

One

consolidated manifest

LCL consolidation from up to four South American ports into one Rotterdam shipment. One set of customs documents. Four origins handled under a single booking.

Three

milestone escrow releases

Buyer funds are held in Stripe-backed escrow and released per milestone. Supplier receives payment on confirmed delivery stages. No wire transfers before goods are verified.

The people

Built by practitioners.

Finance, consulting, and LATAM on-the-ground operating experience.

CB

Colin Brotschi

CEO & Founder · Switzerland

Finance · LATAM operations · FCG Medellín

Background in Finance and Structured Products Trading. Student in International Management at ZHAW. Owner of a company in Medellín (FCG).

SK

Simon Kaiser

CCO · Switzerland

KPMG consulting

Background in Consulting at KPMG. Student in International Management at ZHAW.

TB

Tobias Burri

CFO · Switzerland

ZKB trading floor

Background in Finance on ZKB's trading floor.

Operating principles

Transparency

Every fee, every document, every compliance check is shown to the buyer. Nothing is bundled or abstracted away.

Traceability

Every order carries a full audit trail — from supplier polygon verification to final freight booking. Exportable at any time.

Responsibility boundaries

Merco handles the workflow. You retain the legal obligations. Article 4, import declarations, and duty payment are yours.

Buyer-owned decisions

Supplier selection, document approval, milestone sign-off — every consequential decision is made by you, not the platform.

Workflow-first execution

Merco is not a marketplace or a directory. It is a workflow layer that runs the operational parts so you can focus on product decisions.

Infrastructure

Connected to the standards your compliance team knows.

TRACES NT API (EUDR)ABRAPA Blockchain (Cotton)Textile Exchange V4.0UFLPA Evidentiary FrameworkCSDDD Risk MappingVISEC Argentina (Soy/Leather)

Merco handles

  • AI-assisted supplier discovery and ranking
  • EUDR geo-polygon verification (GFW data)
  • DDS drafting and TRACES NT portal filing
  • Rules of Origin documentation (EUR.1)
  • Freight rate sourcing and LCL consolidation
  • Stripe escrow holding and milestone tracking

Your obligation

  • Final supplier selection and contracting
  • EU customs import declarations
  • Import duty and VAT payment
  • Final compliance sign-off as EU operator of record
  • Goods quality inspection and acceptance

Based in: Zurich, Switzerland

Data ownership: Buyer-owned · exportable any time

Methodology: EUDR Art.10 · CSDDD Art.8 · UFLPA guidance

Payment rails: Stripe Connect · SWIFT bank wires

Free to join · No subscription

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Commission on orders only. Onboarding as a supplier?