Mercosur: Parliament backs safeguard measures to protect EU agriculture 

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• Possibility to suspend tariff preferences for sensitive agricultural products such as poultry and beef 
• MEPs want stricter thresholds to trigger safeguards and shorter investigation timelines 
• The Commission should closely and constantly monitor the market and report every three months 

On Tuesday MEPs approved a safeguard clause for the EU-Mercosur agreement to prevent imports from Mercosur countries harming Europe’s agriculture sector.

Parliament’s position was adopted by 431 in favour, 161 against and 70 abstentions. Negotiations with the Council on the final form of the legislation will take place tomorrow, 17 December.

The draft regulation sets out how the EU could temporarily suspend tariff preferences on the import of certain agricultural products considered sensitive (such as poultry or beef) from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay if these imports are seen to be harming EU producers.

According to Parliament, the Commission should launch an investigation into the need for protection measures when imports of sensitive agricultural products increase by an average of 5% over a three-year period (compared to 10% per year in the Commission proposal). They also want speedier investigations (from six to three months generally, and from four to two months in case of sensitive products) so that safeguards can be introduced faster.

Parliament adopted an amendment which includes a reciprocity mechanism, whereby the Commission shall initiate an investigation and adopt safeguard measures where there is credible evidence that imports benefiting from tariff preferences do not meet equivalent environmental, animal welfare, health, food safety, or labour protection requirements applicable to producers in the EU.

Gabriel Mato (EPP, ES), Parliament’s standing rapporteur for Mercosur, said: “I welcome the strong commitment shown by political groups in supporting a solid and balanced compromise. These safeguards significantly improve the way the regulation will operate, ensuring stronger protection for our farmers and a more reliable framework for implementation. The compromises also reflect the key priorities raised by our colleagues in the Agriculture Committee, which was essential for building a broad confidence across the House. I will do everything necessary to defend these improvements in the negotiations to come, as they are not only effective, but also fair and indispensable for achieving a credible outcome.”

Bernd Lange (S&D, DE), Chair of the International Trade Committee, said: “Common sense has prevailed: even members sceptical about the EU-Mercosur trade agreement realise that it’s in everyone’s interest to have such an additional safety net. The same people will hopefully now realise that we have woken up in a totally different world than a few months ago. The only sensible reply to what China and the US are doing is to give our green light to the Mercosur agreement. To do otherwise would be geopolitically irresponsible and economical nonsense. Some other powers that like to portray us as irrelevant would then rub their hands with glee. The finish line for is now in sight and we should cross it.”

Background

The bilateral safeguard clauses are to be part of both the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur interim Trade Agreement. Those two agreements still need to be ratified by the European Parliament, following their signature, expected later this month.

The EU is Mercosur’s second-largest trading partner in goods, with exports of €57 billion in 2024. The EU accounts for a quarter of total Mercosur trade in services, with EU exports to the region amounting to €29 billion in 2023.