Protection mechanisms for farmers in the Mercosur trade agreement

The EU Parliament has voted on new protection mechanisms for agricultural imports from the Mercosur countries Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Specifically, it concerns an EU regulation that determines how tariff concessions for agricultural products such as poultry or beef from these countries can be temporarily suspended if they cause or threaten to cause serious harm to European farmers. The regulation is intended to implement a so-called bilateral safeguard clause. This is part of the planned EU-Mercosur trade agreement and the partnership agreement between the EU and the Mercosur states. Both agreements have not yet been ratified. The trade agreement requires the approval of the EU Parliament, the partnership agreement also requires the approval of all EU member states. With the proposal, the EU wants to ensure that trade liberalization does not come at the expense of particularly sensitive agricultural sectors. Clear procedures, fixed deadlines and objective criteria are envisaged that allow the EU to react quickly, proportionately and legally to market disruptions. This is intended in particular to address the repeatedly expressed concerns of European farmers about increased import pressure. Attention: The voting results shown on the right only reflect the voting behavior of the 96 German MEPs and not that of all 720 MEPs. Overall, the draft regulation was approved with 431 votes in favour, 161 against and 70 abstentions. Of the German MEPs, 76 voted for and 14 against. There were two abstentions from Marc Jongen (ESN) and Maria Noichl (S&D).

Vote breakdown