The European Commission on 3 September formally presented the EU’s trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc to the European Parliament and to EU governments for approval, and moved to address long-running agricultural concerns with a new safeguard proposal and a farmer support fund. The initiative appears to have softened French resistance, long the most significant obstacle to ratification.
The accord with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay was politically concluded in December 2024 after a negotiation spanning 25 years. The Commission describes it as the EU’s largest trade pact by tariff reductions. Ratification requires the consent of the European Parliament and a qualified majority among member states — at least 15 of 27 countries representing 65% of the EU population.
The Commission and supportive capitals frame the agreement as part of a wider strategy to diversify trade and secure inputs for Europe’s green transition. They argue it would help offset losses from U.S. tariffs introduced under President Donald Trump and reduce reliance on China for critical minerals.
To ease farm-sector concerns, the Commission outlined a mechanism allowing the suspension of Mercosur’s preferential access for selected agricultural products, such as beef, if imports into one or more EU countries were to rise by more than 10% or prices were to fall by more than 10%. The executive says it could take provisional action within three weeks of receiving a complaint, and it plans a €6.3 billion crisis fund for EU farmers.
France, the EU’s largest beef producer and a consistent critic of the pact, reacted cautiously. Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said the proposed safeguard was a “step in the right direction”, while adding that Paris would examine the detail.
Poland remains opposed. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Warsaw would vote against the deal but acknowledged that a bloc of like-minded countries may no longer be sufficient to stop it, reinforcing the case for protective measures if the agreement advances.
The political arithmetic is uncertain. Green and far-right groups in the European Parliament are among declared critics, and farm unions and environmental NGOs have mobilised against the pact. Friends of the Earth has labelled the agreement “climate-wrecking”, a characterisation the Commission rejects, insisting that EU standards on food safety will apply to imports.
Economically, the agreement would phase out most tariffs between the EU and Mercosur. According to public summaries, Mercosur would remove duties on about 91% of EU goods, including a phased elimination of the 35% tariff on cars, while the EU would cut tariffs on roughly 92% of Mercosur exports. Sensitive products, notably beef and poultry, would be subject to quotas; the accord also recognises hundreds of European geographical indications.
Proponents in Europe view Mercosur as a growing destination for EU cars, machinery and chemicals, and as a supplier of minerals critical to decarbonisation. They also point to potential benefits for EU agri-food exporters, with improved market access for cheese, ham and wine. Opponents argue that increased imports risk undercutting EU producers and could encourage deforestation and weaker environmental compliance in producer countries.
Alongside the safeguard design, the Commission has put forward its economic case. It estimates the deal could lift EU exports to Mercosur by up to 39% — about €49 billion a year — and support more than 440,000 jobs. Those figures will be tested in parliamentary scrutiny and by capitals over the coming weeks.
The Commission presented, in parallel, the modernised EU–Mexico Global Agreement, concluded by negotiators in January 2025, for formal adoption by the EU institutions. Brussels casts both accords as central to its trade diversification drive. A civil-society dialogue on 5 September will gather stakeholders to review the texts and next steps.
Next steps involve scrutiny in the Parliament, followed by a vote, and consideration by the Council, where member states vote by qualified majority. With France signalling openness to safeguards and Poland emphasising the need for defensive instruments, the balance among governments remains fluid. The Commission’s safeguard design and crisis funding will be key to whether enough capitals — and MEPs — are reassured to move the pact across the line.
French farm union and MEPs explore legal challenge to EU–Mercosur
