Competing concerns

What are the repercussions of the EU-Mercosur pact that have made European farmers protest against the free trade agreement?

- SHAGUN

SINCE DECEMBER 2025, a wave of agrarian anger has swept across Europe: farmers have blocked the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris and tractors have descended upon the EU Parliament in Strasbourg, France. The trigger is the EU-Mercosur trade agreement signed on January 17.

Mercosur or the Southern Common Market is a regional South American trade bloc established in 1991, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. The deal between the two blocs creates one of the biggest free trade zones in the world, covering a market of 700 million consumers, as data by the European Commission shows. However, European farmers fear unfair competition and say the deal will undercut European agriculture by allowing cheaper foreign products to replace domestic goods, even as investment by local farmers is restricted.

The EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA) and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement (ITA) will have to be ratified by all 27 EU member-states. Enforcement of ITA will also require consent of the European Parliament and adoption of a decision on the conclusion by the Council of the European Union.

However, just one day after the formal signing, the ratification ran into trouble. On January 21, the lawmakers of the 27-member EU voted (334 votes in favor to 324 against) to send the trade deal to European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a judicial review. Media reports say that the deal could be delayed by two years. France, which is Europe's major agricultural producer, and where much of the protests are centred, wants stronger protections for farmers. France was also one of the five countries which had voted against signing the deal on January 9, along with Ireland, Poland, Hungary and Austria.