{"id":24107,"date":"2026-01-12T09:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T09:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=24107"},"modified":"2026-01-12T10:05:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T10:05:31","slug":"mercosur-deal-passes-while-france-gifts-farmers-pesticide-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2026\/01\/12\/mercosur-deal-passes-while-france-gifts-farmers-pesticide-ban\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercosur deal passes while France gifts farmers pesticide ban\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The European Union (EU) preliminarily passed the EU-Mercosur Agreement by 65% votes on January 9 in Brussels, per the\u00a0RFI<\/u><\/a>. Deal opponent, France, had earlier appeased protesting farmers by banning five pesticides in food imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercosur is a trading bloc in South America originally composite of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal is nevertheless yet to gain final approval in the EU parliament, where France vows to block it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France, Austria, Ireland and Poland voted against – with Italy eventually switching from opposer to supporter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Italy\u2019s Chianti Wineries<\/u><\/a> had notably in July 2025 showed willingness to trial the Mercosur market at the height of the Trump trade war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But opposition to carving out to South America persists due to fears of substandard agricultural goods flooding into Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past week, some anti-Mercosur farmers managed to drive tractors to the iconic Arc de Triomphe in Paris in protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then on January 7, France\u2019s Prime Minister S\u00e9bastian Lecornu appeased farmers by banning fruit and vegetable imports containing certain pesticides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restricted pesticides include mancozeb for avocados and mangos, carbendazim for tomatoes, benomyl for wheat, thiophanate-methyl for citrus and glufosinate for potatoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mango, avocado, guava, grape, citrus and apple imports with these substances now oughtn\u2019t \u201center the country,\u201d per Il Sole 24 Ore<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mercosur trade agreement persuasively offers an import suspension approach on sensitive agricultural goods under which chemicals fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France is also keen to resist what it predicts as dawn of substandard sugar, poultry and beef into Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4-billion Euro Tariff Savings<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Germany and Spain are nevertheless backing the agreement, which is the largest ever for the EU regarding tariff savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After negotiating for 25 years, the European Commission finally tabled the deal in 2019, citing duty savings approximating \u20ac4 billion ($4.67 billion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commission argues that the agreement would open fresh markets, counter U.S. tariff losses and reduce mineral reliance on China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To sweeten the deal further, the commission has included a clause to allow suspension of sensitive farm goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some farmers in Germany and Belgium<\/u><\/a> have particularly been demonstrating of late with respect to Mercosur trade replacing sensitive goods with cheap imports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the block will also cut fertilizer import tariffs, which is one of the most important traded goods. To learn more about the EU-Mercosur agreement, peruse the below stats on existing trade between the two economic blocs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EU-Mercosur Trade <\/strong>Statistics <\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The European Union and the Mercado Com\u00fan del Sur (Mercosur) first made breakthrough in 2019 with a preliminary text (EUMETA<\/u><\/a>). It was the penultimate step for trade after discussions had begun in 1999. This created the way for a joint free trade market comprising almost 800 million consumers<\/u><\/a> on both sides of the Atlantic. This is about 20%<\/u><\/a> of the global GDP in economic terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trade gains include a reduction of about \u20ac4 billion <\/u><\/a>($4.67 billion) in tariffs that the EU currently pays to trade with the Mercosur. Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay in their part will enjoy the elimination of 91%<\/u><\/a> in import duties from the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one, the Mercosur counts the EU as its 2nd<\/sup> largest trading party, with outbound exports worth \u20ac57 billion ($66.5 billion) for 2024. The EU reciprocates with exports to Mercosur worth \u20ac29 billion ($33.9 billion) (2023). It also keeps offshore investments in form of stocks worth  \u20ac390 billion ($455.5 billion), as of 2023, per the European Commission<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which agricultural commodities currently represent EU-Mercosur trade?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of 2024, animal feed at \u20ac<\/u>7.1 billion<\/u><\/a> ($8.29 billion) represented the biggest agricultural import by the EU from the Mercosur. Coffee, tea, cocoa and spices clocked \u20ac5.2 billion ($6.1 billion), while oil seeds and tropical fruits finished at \u20ac3.7 billion ($4.32 billion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How could the EU-Mercosur deal favor beverage trade?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the EU Commission, an agreement with the Mercosur would remove 20%<\/u><\/a> beverage tariffs to major importer, Argentina. Finland\u2019s Mallaskoski beer company would notably expand annual turnover of \u20ac1 million ($1.167 million) upon free market access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Mercosur members trade the most with the EU?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brazil ranks first in EU-Mercosur trade among South American nations. It had a cumulative [import and export] trade value worth \u20ac89.5 billion<\/u><\/a> ($104.5 billion). This is even as Argentina contributed \u20ac16.4 billion ($19.2 billion) in 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Union (EU) preliminarily passed the EU-Mercosur Agreement by 65% votes on January 9 in Brussels, per the\u00a0RFI. Deal opponent, France, had earlier appeased protesting farmers by banning five pesticides in food imports. Mercosur is a trading bloc in South America originally composite of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. The deal is nevertheless yet…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMercosur deal passes while France gifts farmers pesticide ban\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2026\/01\/12\/mercosur-deal-passes-while-france-gifts-farmers-pesticide-ban\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mercosur deal passes while France gifts farmers pesticide ban\u00a0 - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The European Union (EU) preliminarily passed the EU-Mercosur Agreement by 65% votes on January 9 in Brussels, per the\u00a0RFI. 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