Brussels is offering unprecedented guarantees to European farmers to ease concerns about the EU’s planned free trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc. The European Commission has pledged that any member state reporting damage to its farming sector will trigger an official investigation, in an effort to win support for the deal.
Farmers in France, Poland, and other countries have pressured their governments to resist the pact, often described as a “cows for cars” agreement, since it would open EU markets to beef, chicken, and sugar imports from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The Commission hopes to secure final approval by December, positioning the agreement as a way to expand access to a 700 million–strong market and increase exports of EU products such as wine, cheese, and industrial goods. Brussels estimates the deal could raise annual exports to Mercosur by up to 39 percent, worth around €49 billion.
To address concerns, the Commission said it will closely track imports of sensitive products. If shipments increase by more than 10 percent or if prices fall 10 percent below domestic levels in any member state, it will open an investigation. The agreement also allows either side to suspend or reverse tariff cuts if evidence shows serious harm to farmers.
Reactions across Europe remain cautious. French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said the new “safeguard clause” was a step forward but that France would study its effectiveness before giving approval. Italy’s government also noted it would weigh the protections carefully before deciding. Blocking the deal would require at least four member states representing 35 percent of the EU’s population.
Meanwhile, members of the European Parliament have raised objections to a separate EU-US trade arrangement agreed in July, which lowered tariffs on certain US products while imposing 15 percent duties on most EU exports to the United States. Lawmakers criticized the outcome as unbalanced and signaled possible changes during the approval process.
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