“Sign it or bury it,” says former agriculture minister on EU-Mercosur deal

Key to finalizing the terms of the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement in 2019 as then-minister of agriculture, Senator Tereza Cristina believes the deal must be signed now or abandoned in favor of other opportunities.

“If it’s not signed this time, bury it and pursue bilateral agreements with countries genuinely interested in reaching a deal,” she told Valor. She emphasized, however, that such negotiations should occur through Mercosur rather than individually.

The senator highlighted the ongoing global economic realignment and predicted that multilateral agreements will lose prominence following Donald Trump’s reelection in the United States. This, she argued, presents Brazil with a chance to expand trade with partners like the BRICS bloc—comprising Russia, India, China, and South Africa—and to diversify its export portfolio, which remains heavily reliant on commodities.

Despite this, she maintains that the EU-Mercosur deal is still significant, though she considers the quotas negotiated in 2019 modest. Just hours before the preliminary agreement was signed, she successfully secured an increase in the sugar quota, raising it to 180,000 tonnes for Mercosur. “It wasn’t free trade. Even then, I thought the quotas were too small,” she said.

While European criticism of Brazilian products has been vocal, Ms. Cristina noted that negotiations in 2019 also faced concerns about a potential “flood” of European wine into Mercosur. Europe initially sought immediate, tariff-free access, but the final terms established an eight-year period for phasing out tariffs. Similar timelines were agreed upon for imports of cheese, powdered milk, sparkling wine, garlic, and chocolate.

The senator expressed concern about the potential impact of the Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) on the agreement. She recalled that during the 2019 negotiations, European representatives attempted to insert environmental clauses and safeguards, which required “great effort” from Brazil to counter.

“The foundations of the agreement were set back then. But now we must carefully examine what’s being added, like this deforestation law that complicates everything. This law isn’t part of the deal,” she said. “We need to analyze it strategically and intelligently, without reacting emotionally.”

The EUDR prohibits the sale of soy, corn, beef, sugar, coffee, rubber, and palm oil from deforested areas—whether legally cleared or not—post-2021, directly impacting Brazil’s agribusiness sector.

The chart below shows which products were the most exported in containers from Brazil to European ports in 2024. The data is derived from DataLiner – a Datamar product.

Top Most Exported Goods to Europe | 2024 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

Push for reciprocity

Regardless of how the EUDR is addressed in the agreement, its implementation delay to December 2025 gives Brazil time to advance its environmental and economic reciprocity law. Ms. Cristina, who is spearheading the legislation in the Senate, assured that Congress would pass the bill by then. “We must analyze these measures broadly, as they are for the world, not just for one country,” she said.

This proposed law responds to recent criticism of Brazilian and Mercosur beef in France, a key opponent of the trade agreement. The senator believes the remarks from Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard, amplified by the French government and lawmakers, are part of an effort to sway neighboring countries against the deal.

She criticized the Brazilian government’s response to Mr. Bompard’s apology letter as “timid and procedural,” calling it “very weak.” “France is trying to shift the blame and avoid being the sole blocker of the agreement. If we escalate the situation, we’ll be playing into France’s hands. They must bear the responsibility alone,” she concluded.

Source: Valor Internacional

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