EU-Mercosur deal met with celebration and anger

France and many European farmers’ unions oppose the huge but controversial trade deal. At the same time, Germany, Spain, Argentina and Brazil have hailed the agreement.

EU-Mercosur deal met with celebration and anger
France and many European farmers’ unions oppose the huge but controversial trade deal. At the same time, Germany, Spain, Argentina and Brazil have hailed the agreement.

https://p.dw.com/p/4nr1i
(L/R) Argentina’s President Javier Milei, Uruguay’s President Luis Lacalle Pou, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena pose for the family picture of the LXV Mercosur Summit in Montevideo on December 6, 2024.
European Commission chief von der Leyen (center) hailed the deal as a ‘win-win agreement’Image: EITAN ABRAMOVICH/AFP/Getty Images
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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.