Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe EU may approve the Mercosur trade deal by summer, facing opposition from France over agricultural impacts. Discussions continue to find a resolution.
By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union could approve its planned trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur before summer, but it has not yet fixed a date to do so, EU agriculture commissioner Christophe Hansen told Reuters on Thursday.
"It could be before summer," Hansen said in an interview.
EU nations still need to approve the deal, which was finalised in December but has faced opposition from members including France, which argues that the pact would hurt European farmers who face stricter norms and regulations than their South American peers.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva discussed their differences on the pact at a meeting in Paris on Thursday. Macron said the text could be improved with the insertion of mirror clauses.
France has previously argued for the insertion of an emergency break clause to restrict imports if a sudden surge in imports destabilises certain EU markets.
"This would indeed require that we go back to the table and reopen. I don't think that this would be helpful in this situation," Hansen said of the idea of resuming negotiations with Mercosur countries to add new safeguards to the deal.
"I see from many different parts of the agriculture and food sector, they are really looking for having these new opportunities," he added.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett, editing by Gus Trompiz and Hugh Lawson)
The European Union could approve its planned trade deal with Mercosur before summer, although no specific date has been set.
EU nations, particularly France, have expressed concerns that the pact could harm European farmers facing strict competition.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva discussed their differences on the pact during a meeting in Paris.
France has argued for an emergency break clause to restrict imports if a sudden surge destabilizes certain EU markets.
EU agriculture commissioner Chris Hansen stated that reopening negotiations would not be helpful in the current situation.
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