European Union member state agriculture ministers in Brussels have been looking at ways to protect the bloc’s farmers in a move to reopen the controversial free trade deal with the five South American Mercosur nations of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. If agreed, according to EU chief trade negotiator Maroš Šefčovič, the “landmark” deal would be “the biggest free trade agreement we ever negotiated, increasing EU agrifood exports by up to 50%.
Šefčovič said the EU-Mercosur negotiations will continue tomorrow, while speculation suggests a deal could be signed in Paraguay at the beginning of next week.
Last month, French opposition, stirred up by irate farmers, upended the deal, forcing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to call off a trip to Brazil, where senior EU officials had hoped to sign off on the EU-Mercosur deal after 26 years of negotiations.
Italy is now seen as being key to sealing the deal. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni‘s backing of the German-led support for the agreement would be enough to clear the way and overcome objections by France and Poland. Earlier this week, Meloni posted on X that she welcomed von der Leyen’s proposal to fast-track funds to farmers. Still, she gave no assurances that she was ready to throw Italy’s weight behind the deal that would cover a market of 780 million people and a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product, while progressively removing duties on almost all goods traded between the two blocs.
December’s delay of the Mercosur pact was seen to diminish the EU’s negotiating credibility. France’s President Emmanuel Macron led opposition to the deal, which he sees as fueling support for a surging far-right party critical of it. Macron’s centrist government has demanded safeguards to monitor and stop large economic disruption in the EU, including increased regulations in the Mercosur nations like pesticide restrictions, as well as more inspections of imports at EU ports.
Yesterday, Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard reaffirmed France’s opposition to the deal, citing the threat Mercosur poses to such sectors as beef, chicken, sugar, ethanol and honey.
Were the EU Commission to sign the deal on 12 January, “there is no guarantee the European Parliament will approve it,” she said, while acknowledging the likelihood that Italy would approve the deal.
Supporters say the EU-Mercosur deal provides a clear alternative to China’s export controls and to Washington’s tariff weaponisation. However, its detractors claim it will undermine environmental regulations and the EU’s agricultural sector.
Šefčovič said recent negotiations within the EU over the deal had led to new safeguards like “semiautomatic triggering thresholds” that would snap into place were Mercosur imports found to be seriously undercutting EU products.
Political tensions such as those between Brazil and Argentina have not deterred South American leaders from pursuing an alliance with Europe that will benefit their agricultural sectors.
Venezuela was a member of Mercosur until 2016, when its membership was suspended, a move criticised by Venezuela’s acting President, Delcy Rodríguez, then the foreign minister.
