The EU-Mercosur trade deal must be stopped – NOW! – CIDSE
Statement

The EU-Mercosur trade deal must be stopped – NOW!

No more toxic trade deals between the EU and Latin American countries

CIDSE joins over 400 organisations from Latin America and the European Union in urging political decision makers to drop the EU-Mercosur deal amid environmental, human rights and democratic concerns.

STATEMENT – EN/ES/PT/DE/NL/FR


Just one week before a potential announcement of a new political agreement of the EU-Mercosur trade deal, over 400 civil society organisations, social movements, think tanks and other social groups from Latin America and the European Union, representing millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic, demand an end to the negotiations of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. They call it a “toxic deal” that sacrifices people, democracy, and the planet for corporate gain.

Lack of democracy and transparency

Negotiated behind closed doors for over two decades, the EU-Mercosur deal has excluded public input and democratic oversight, with the European Commission’s lack of transparency drawing widespread condemnation, even by its own Ombudsman. The deal’s proposed additional protocol does nothing to address the environmental and sustainable development issues highlighted by a resolution of the European Parliament in 2020.

“The efforts by the European Commission to “split” the deal, are nothing but an undemocratic power grab. It would purposefully ignore individual country’s vetoes and the publicly voiced concerns of those most affected – workers, small-scale farmers, Indigenous communities, and women”, says Julie Zalcman, Trade campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe.

Deal undermines environmental and human rights protection

The deal perpetuates exploitative trade structures, promoting harmful agricultural practices that threaten access to healthy, local and fair food and displace local farmers and Indigenous communities. “The EU-Mercosur deal is a poison for biodiversity and rural communities in the Mercosur. It will boost exports of toxic pesticides from Europe to Mercosur countries, including chemicals actually banned in the EU. This deal exacerbates social and environmental inequalities, will drive deforestation, accelerate the climate crisis, and violate human rights”, says Francisco Vladimir Silva from Jubileo Sul Brazil and the Frente Brasileira contra o acordo UE-Mercosul.

No deal with leaders like Milei 

In its statement, the undersigning organisations also point out the danger of engaging with leaders and governments in Argentina and Paraguay who deny the climate crisis, while Brazil battles unprecedented droughts; and wildfires devastate forests in the entire region. In Argentina, economic policies under the current president, Javier Milei have plunged millions into poverty, with basic rights curtailed and public services gutted. While EU leaders had reservations signing a deal with former Brazilian President Bolsonaro, they appear less sceptical of similarly dangerous Milei, who is threatening to leave the Paris Agreement. In their statement, NGOs warn that: “The combination of Milei’s disastrous policies and this outdated trade deal is a recipe for catastrophe.“

The full statement and all signatories can be found here: https://europeantradejustice.org/eu-mercosur-nov2024/

Contacts for additional information:

  • Gaëlle Cau, Communication officer, Friends of the Earth Europe (gaelle.cau(at)foeeurope.org) (EN, FR)
  • Julie Zalcman, Trade campaigner, Friends of the Earth Europe (julie.zalcman(at)foeeurope.org) (EN, FR, ES)
  • Francisco Vladimir Silva, Policy officer, Jubileo Sul Brazil, member of the steering committee of the Frente Brasileiro contra o acordo UE-Mercosul (articulacao(at)jubileusul.org.br) (PT, ES, EN)

CIDSE contact: Susana Hernández Torres, CIDSE Corporate Regulation Officer (hernandez(at)cidse.org)

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