France is pushing for a postponement of the European Union’s vote on ratifying a trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of four South American countries, citing concerns about the impact on farmers and ongoing protests in the country. The move risks derailing an agreement that has been in the making for 25 years.
The EU trade agreement with Mercosur, made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, was signed a year ago but is still awaiting ratification. The move is aimed at expanding access to overseas markets for European exporters, who are struggling with recent tariffs imposed by the United States and increased competition from China.
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But the deal has faced strong opposition from farmers across Europe who fear it will put them under undue pressure to import large quantities of cheap produce produced under the more relaxed environmental and agricultural standards of some South American countries.
Securing a resolution to the issue is seen by some as a test of Europe’s ability to act as a united bloc, just days after US President Donald Trump criticized EU leaders as “weak” and warned of “annihilation of civilization” across the bloc.
What does the EU-Mercosur trade agreement include?
If ratified, the trade agreement between the European bloc and the South American bloc will be the largest free trade agreement brokered by Brussels in terms of tariff relief.
Negotiations began in 1999, but progress has repeatedly stalled due to conflicting interests. EU farmers have long raised concerns about excessively cheap agricultural imports, while environmentalists have spoken out against deforestation in the Amazon.
Mercosur, which aims to lower tariffs and boost trade in goods and services between the two blocs, would allow the EU to export more vehicles, machinery and wine to South America in exchange for easing imports of beef, sugar, soybeans and rice from the region into Europe.
Tariffs between the two blocs are currently high, with Mercosur imposing up to 35% on EU cars, machinery and food, while the EU imposes steep tariffs of up to around 15% on South American agricultural products.
The agreement would phase out most, but not all, of these tariffs over time. Some major agricultural products will be controlled through quotas and partial tariff reductions. Still, critics fear it will give too much to Mercosur countries, flooding European markets with cheap South American goods.
The EU is Mercosur’s second-largest goods trading partner, with exports worth 57 billion euros ($67 billion) in 2024, according to the European Commission. The EU is also the largest foreign investor in Mercosur, with a total capitalization of 390 billion euros ($458 billion) in 2023.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Brazil next Monday to sign the agreement and create the world’s largest free trade area.
Why does France want to delay ratification?
France, the EU’s biggest agricultural producer, is trying to rally other EU member states to form a minority opposition to the deal. They want stronger protections for farmers added to the agreement..
Meanwhile, as many as 10,000 farmers are expected to gather in Brussels, the Belgian capital and de facto capital of the EU, to protest against the deal during a summit of EU member states on Thursday and Friday.
The European Commission proposed safeguards such as suspending Mercosur imports if the volume of imported goods increases by more than 10% or if prices fall by the same amount. However, France says these safety measures are “incomplete”.
In an interview with German business daily Handelsblatt on Sunday, French Economy Minister Laurent Lescure said the current deal was “totally unacceptable.”
On the same day, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecorne called on the EU to postpone a vote scheduled for Brussels ahead of von der Leyen’s December 20 visit to Brazil, where she is expected to sign the agreement.
The timing of Mercosur’s vote coincides with Prime Minister Lecorne’s minority government’s efforts to secure parliamentary approval by the end of 2025 of a budget that includes a postponement of President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial pension reform.
It also follows an outbreak of the highly contagious livestock virus lump skin disease in France this summer, leading to animal culling and protests by livestock farmers over measures deemed too harsh.
Opposition to the trade deal is strong in France, with both far-right and far-left parties presenting it as evidence that Paris is bowing to Brussels at the expense of rural communities.
France has set out three conditions for approving the deal: a safeguard mechanism that could halt imports in case of dumping, a “mirror clause” requiring Mercosur products to comply with EU regulations on pesticides, and stronger food safety inspections.
But if France’s conditions are not met, it could try to block the deal altogether.
Why is the transaction blocked?
By voting no.
Denmark currently holds a rotating presidency in which member states take turns setting a joint agenda, but must decide this week whether to proceed with the vote as planned.
The agreement could be broken if Denmark rebels against the opposition. Stopping minorities would require the support of at least four member states representing 35% of the EU’s population. Ireland, Poland, Hungary and Austria are openly opposed to the Mercosur agreement.
Together with France, this group of countries accounts for more than a third of the EU’s population, enough to form a minority bloc.
What are other EU member states saying?
Elsewhere in Europe, reactions mirror existing divisions. Poland, Hungary, Austria and Ireland expressed support for France’s position. “The postponement is a very good sign,” Poland’s Agriculture Minister Stefan Krajewski said.
The Netherlands has not yet taken a position.
“In the European Commission’s view, signing the agreement now is not only a matter of great economic, diplomatic and geopolitical importance, but also of great importance from the point of view of our credibility on the world stage,” European Commission deputy spokesperson Olof Gil told reporters in X.
Volker Treyer from the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry DIHK echoed that sentiment, saying: “The EU must not miss the opportunity to strengthen ties with South America’s key trading and raw material partners and reduce existing trade barriers.”
In response to France’s stance, the European Commission said it expected to sign an agreement by the end of the year. “In the European Commission’s view, signing the agreement now is a matter of great economic, diplomatic and geopolitical importance,” the commission said in a statement.
Did EU member states object to the deal for other reasons?
yes. Several EU member states also oppose the deal on environmental grounds, saying Brazil is not doing enough to protect the Amazon rainforest. Critics point to recent spikes in deforestation rates and forest fires, and warn that expanding beef exports could lead to further land clearing.
At the G7 Summit held in Biarritz, France in August 2019, then-European Commission President Donald Tusk said: “It is difficult to imagine a harmonious ratification process.” [of the deal] …as long as the Brazilian government allows the destruction of the planet’s green lungs. ”
France, Austria and others have also said they will not support the deal unless there are stronger and enforceable protections for climate and biodiversity. In response, the EU called for additional guarantees and accompanying instruments that would oblige Mercosur countries to comply with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which is signed by almost all UN member states.
