The European Union has detailed the guarantees provided to farmers in an attempt to reassure them about the impact of the trade agreement with the Latin American countries of Mercosur.
A protester holds a sign as farmers protest against the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which they believe would flood the bloc with cheaper agricultural products in Brussels, on November 13, 2024. (Photo: Simon Wohlfahrt / AFP)
Brussels – The Commission clarified on Wednesday the “safeguard measures” announced in early September to calm the anger of farmers and breeders and to secure France’s approval for the agreement with Mercosur.
Brussels promises “enhanced monitoring” of “sensitive products” such as beef, poultry, rice, honey, eggs, garlic, ethanol, and sugar. It plans to provide an assessment of the impact of imports from Mercosur to the Member States and the European Parliament every six months.
An investigation would be launched if the prices of a Mercosur product are at least 10% lower than those of an identical product from the European Union and if the volume of duty-free imports increases by more than 10%.
In the event of serious harm, the EU could temporarily raise customs duties on the affected products.
In “most urgent cases,” it promises to activate provisional safeguard measures within a maximum of 21 days.
Upon the announcement of these measures in early September, Paris welcomed a step in the right direction, while not yet giving its approval. (October 8, 2025)
