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4w ago

France Blocks EU–Mercosur Deal as Farm Safeguard Fight Escalates

A hard line from Paris over agricultural protections puts the European Commission’s year‑end ratification target in doubt.

Una de las protestas de agricultores franceses al norte de París.
Paris (France), 14/10/2025.- French farmers with tractors take part in a protest against the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement, on Esplanade des Invalides, in Paris, France, 14 October 2025. The French farmers' union 'Confederation Paysanne' called for a mobilization in Paris to demand fair and regulated international trade, denouncing free trade agreements (EU-Mercosur, EU-Mexico) that threaten farmers' incomes, human rights, biodiversity, and food sovereignty. (Protestas, Francia) EFE/EPA/MOHAMMED BADRA
El 85% de las exportaciones argentinas a la UE corresponden a productos agroindustriales, principalmente complejos de soja, maíz, carne y biodiésel.
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Overview

  • Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard said France will not approve the pact unless explicit farm, sanitary and environmental safeguards are written into the terms.
  • The agreement was adopted by the European Commission on September 3, 2025, but it still requires approval by all 27 EU member states, with Austria, Ireland, Italy and Poland among those expressing reservations.
  • Brussels has floated an implementing regulation, reported as 2025/0322, that would trigger fast probes when Mercosur import volumes or prices shift by about 10% and would shorten investigation periods.
  • More than 40 Argentine agroindustrial organizations issued a joint statement rejecting the EU safeguard proposal as unilateral and inconsistent with the agreement and WTO rules.
  • President Emmanuel Macron recently sounded cautiously positive during a Brazil visit, yet French farm unions denounced that stance and new protests flared, putting a December signing push in question.