The European Union has concluded a huge but controversial deal with four South American countries that would create a free-trade zone encompassing over 700 million people.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced the Mercosur deal on Friday, describing it as a “win-win agreement.” The deal has meanwhile been met with rejection from Paris and European farmers unions.
The EU-Mercosur deal, which has been in the works for some 25 years, is still pending the approval of at least 15 of the EU’s 27-member-states as well as the European Parliament.
Those who support the deal say that it offers a way to reduce reliance on trade with China and it insulates EU nations from the impact of trade tariffs which US President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose.
However, opponents argue that the deal would lead to cheap imports of South American commodities in a manner that would fail to meet the EU’s green and food safety standards. The import of beef from the Latin American countries was the most glaring concern.
EU, Germany, Spain celebrate the deal
Von der Leyen hailed the conclusion of the negotiations.
“This is a win-win agreement, which will bring meaningful benefits to consumers and businesses, on both sides,” she said in a statement.
Von der Leyen added that the deal is focused on “fairness and mutual benefit.” She said over 350 EU products were now protected by “a geographical indication,” and that EU health and food standards “remain untouchable.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also welcomed the conclusion of the deal, saying on X that “an important hurdle” had been overcome.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez meanwhile called it a “historic agreement… to establish an unprecedented economic bridge between Europe and Latin America.”
Von der Leyen said that while finalizing the deal, “we have listened to the concerns of our farmers and we acted on them.”
France, farmers’ unions’ blast the deal
However, farmers unions said the European agricultural community’s “fears have materialized” with the deal’s conclusion.
The COPA-COGENA farmers group warned that the agreement “will have profound consequences” for family farming across the EU if the bloc ratifies it.
“The [European] Commission has sent a very worrying message to millions of farmers across Europe,” COPA president Massimiliano Giansanti said in a statement.
France also maintained its opposition to the deal.
“Today is not the end of the story,” France’s minister for trade, Sophie Primas, told the French AFP news agency. “This only commits the commission, not the [EU] member states.”
Mercosur bloc eyes further trade deals
The Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, naturally welcomed the conclusion of the negotiations.
The Brazilian government said the deal proves that Mercosur is the right platform for member states negotiating together to obtain better conditions for global insertion.
Argentine President Javier Milei said the Mercosur bloc could not let commercial opportunities pass by.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the bloc was next eying trade deals with Panama and the United Arab Emirates.
“Today we have also set up the basis for a future commercial liberalization with Panama, and with the United Arab Emirates talks are advancing quickly and should be concluded in 2025,” Lula told a Mercosur summit in Montevideo.
rmt/ab (AFP, Reuters)